auction
Americannoun
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Also called public sale. a publicly held sale at which property or goods are sold to the highest bidder.
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Cards.
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(in bridge or certain other games) the competitive bidding to fix a contract that a player or players undertake to fulfill.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a public sale of goods or property, esp one in which prospective purchasers bid against each other until the highest price is reached Compare Dutch auction
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the competitive calls made in bridge and other games before play begins, undertaking to win a given number of tricks if a certain suit is trumps
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See auction bridge
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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auctionsimple
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auctionssimple
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have auctionedperfect
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has auctionedperfect
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am auctioningprogressive
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are auctioningprogressive
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is auctioningprogressive
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have been auctioningperfect progressive
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has been auctioningperfect progressive
Past
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auctionedsimple
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had auctionedperfect
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was auctioningprogressive
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were auctioningprogressive
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had been auctioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of auction
1585–95; < Latin auctiōn- (stem of auctiō ) an increase, especially in the bidding at a sale, equivalent to auct ( us ) increased, past participle of augēre ( aug- increase + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
In an auction, items are sold without price tags — whoever bids the highest gets to buy it, whether it’s a painting, a car, or a set of old dishes. You can hold an auction, or auction something. You might have seen auction scenes in classy old movies where the characters bid on paintings by politely raising their hands as the auctioneer calls out a price. Auctions aren’t always high-fallutin’, though — many cities auction off cars they’ve confiscated from criminals.
Vocabulary lists containing auction
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Mockingbird
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The bags were among 1,200 seized assets to be sold at the Ho Chi Minh City Asset Auction Service Center on Monday, according to local media.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
Auction house Heritage Auctions announced Tuesday that it will partner with the Matthew Perry Foundation to sell the late actor’s collection.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
The Netherlands will launch a new 10-year bond via a Dutch Direct Auction on Tuesday, aiming to issue between 6 billion euros and 7 billion euros.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Items from Phyllis Rice, the former housekeeper of Christie's holiday home Greenway House in Devon, will go under the hammer at Wessex Auction Rooms in Chippenham, Wiltshire, on Friday.
From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026
His tobacco fetched a high price each year at the Auction Holdings Limited in Lilongwe, where the farmers sold their hundred-kilogram bales on the auction floor.
From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
