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Synonyms

auctioneer

American  
[awk-shuh-neer] / ˌɔk ʃəˈnɪər /

noun

  1. a person who conducts sales by auction.

verb (used with object)

  1. to auction (something).

auctioneer British  
/ ˌɔːkʃəˈnɪə /

noun

  1. a person who conducts an auction by announcing the lots and controlling the bidding

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to sell by auction

"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

Etymology

Origin of auctioneer

First recorded in 1700–10; auction + -eer

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."

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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.

“What you’re looking for as an auctioneer is someone who’s truly fearless onstage,” says auctioneer Lydia Fenet.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

Being an effective auctioneer, students are told, is about controlling cadence, pitch, projection and resonance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

Then as he droned on like a dentist drill hitting bone, he began to sound like a South Carolina auctioneer at a county fair.

From Salon • Dec. 19, 2025

The auctioneer said the book was initially given a "cautious" pre-sale guide of £2,000-£4,000, but a flood of advance offers saw bidding start at £10,500 and quickly rise to £23,000.

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2025

That provoked more laughter from the bidders, and a scowl from the auctioneer, who was fingering his whip indecisively as he tried to puzzle out whether this would work to his benefit.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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.