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auction

[ awk-shuhn ]
/ ˈɔk ʃən /
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See synonyms for: auction / auctioned / auctioning on Thesaurus.com

noun
Also called public sale. a publicly held sale at which property or goods are sold to the highest bidder.
Cards.
  1. auction bridge.
  2. (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)
to sell by auction (often followed by off): He auctioned off his furniture.
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Origin of auction

1585–95; <Latin auctiƍn- (stem of auctiƍ) an increase, especially in the bidding at a sale, equivalent to auct(us) increased, past participle of augēre (aug- increase + -tus past participle suffix) + -iƍn--ion

OTHER WORDS FROM auction

auc·tion·a·ble, adjectiveauc·tion·ar·y, adjectivepro·auc·tion, adjectiveun·auc·tioned, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use auction in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for auction

auction
/ (ˈɔːkʃən) /

noun
a public sale of goods or property, esp one in which prospective purchasers bid against each other until the highest price is reachedCompare Dutch auction
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
verb
(tr often foll by off) to sell by auction

Word Origin for auction

C16: from Latin auctiƍ an increasing, from augēre to increase
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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