auctioneer
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
auctioneers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
auctioneered,
past participle, past
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auctioneering
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
auctioneersimple
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auctioneerssimple
-
have auctioneeredperfect
-
has auctioneeredperfect
-
am auctioneeringprogressive
-
are auctioneeringprogressive
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is auctioneeringprogressive
-
have been auctioneeringperfect progressive
-
has been auctioneeringperfect progressive
Past
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auctioneeredsimple
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had auctioneeredperfect
-
was auctioneeringprogressive
-
were auctioneeringprogressive
-
had been auctioneeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of auctioneer
Explanation
An auctioneer is a person who manages an auction, or a public sale at which people can bid on items. It's exciting to win the bidding at an auction and hear the auctioneer shout, "Sold!" It's the job of an auctioneer to organize the goods for sale at an auction, as well as to oversee the bidding, often encouraging bidders to compete with each other to drive the price up. Some auctioneers call out items and prices in a distinctive, rapid, sing-song voice. Auctioneer comes from auction, which has a Latin root: auctionem, "increasing sale or public sale," from augere, "to increase."
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.
See Examples For:
Off screen, she worked as a specialist and auctioneer at Lyon & Turnbull, the oldest auction house in Scotland.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
“Try a bigger bite,” said auctioneer Phyllis Kao, trying to coax the next bid after $37 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Ann Thorpe, an auctioneer at Dartmoor Auctions, said: "I think you do sometimes get ironic buys, you know, and things like people's secret Santa presents and that kind of thing."
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
The auction is rigged not for the buyer or the seller but for the auctioneer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
“Do I hear a million?” the auctioneer shouts.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
More than 100 silver items, dating from the early 1700s to the early 1900s, had been expected to fetch up to £23,000 when they were offered for sale at Elmwood's auctioneers in London.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Best's medal was sold for £305,200 by auctioneers Bonhams in London after it had been offered by a private collector.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Number 2 Lawrence Terrace is the only house left in the village and auctioneers have set its guide price at £35,000.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
"I was surprised, that's it," said Hodara during a phone call with auctioneers after the draw.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
Onlookers chewed fresh oysters and hot corn as the auctioneers shouted into the air.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
During the heady days of the dot-com bubble, McCormick was CEO of the internet auctioneering house FreeMarkets - amassing wealth as he steered the Pittsburgh-based company to a nearly $500 million acquisition deal in 2004.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 14, 2023
Though he eschews the "homina-homina-homina" patter known in auctioneering as "the chant," the puckish Girardo entertains bids in all four languages from the auction floor, over the telephone and via the Internet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2015
Though he was the picture of fast-talking auctioneering bluster during the event, he says that he “had a rough night” after appraising each gun at the coroner’s office a few weeks ago.
From Slate ● Nov. 12, 2014
Springsteen briefly took over auctioneering duties before being honored as MusiCares person of the year Friday night, exhorting the crowd to bid on a signed Fender electric guitar by amping up the deal.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2013
O bragging, advertising, placarding, circular-scattering, auctioneering, humbuging world!
From Brook Farm Historic and Personal Memoirs by John Thomas Codman
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