bidding war

American  

[bid-ing-wawr] / ˈbɪd ɪŋ wɔr /

noun

1. a competition in which two or more potential buyers make increasing offers to buy the same thing.

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Example Sentences

Her 2024 follow-up, “Real Americans,” sparked a 17-way bidding war for what this paper called “a disorienting, masterful, shape-shifting novel about multiracial identity.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

Ellison’s Paramount Skydance prevailed in a nearly six-month bidding war in late February after Netflix bowed out when the elder Ellison agreed to financially back his son’s $111-billion deal.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

After the Paris Olympics there was a bidding war for him despite the heavyweight failing to win a medal.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

Helium users, who mostly lock in supply through long-term contracts, are now scrambling for scarce short-term spot market cargoes, a bidding war that has caused prices to more than double, market watchers say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

When Fyndoro’s Tablet of Finding went up for auction, a huge bidding war broke out between several of the large gunter clans.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline