auctioneer
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
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.
Its buyer was the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri, and the seat is to go on exhibition, the auctioneer said.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
The former Christie’s auctioneer, author, podcaster and motivational speaker is normally unflappable on the podium.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026
The auction is rigged not for the buyer or the seller but for the auctioneer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
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
“Big and strong, this one,” the auctioneer declared.
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.
