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Synonyms

Dutch auction

American  

noun

  1. a method of auction consisting in the offer of a property at a price above the actual value and then at gradually reduced prices until a buyer is found.


Dutch auction British  

noun

  1. an auction in which the price is lowered by stages until a buyer is found

"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 Dutch auction

First recorded in 1860–65


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:

It said it would ditch the popular Dutch auction style of minting, in which an NFT goes up for sale at a certain ceiling price and is then incrementally lowered over time.

From The Verge ● May 1, 2022

Enter buybacks and tender offers, such as the Dutch auction for up to $7.5 billion in stock that AbbVie Inc. began at the beginning of May.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2018

The process will start off similar to a Dutch auction, in which values are set at a high level and then diminish until the FCC gets the licenses it needs at the lowest possible price.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2016

Corporations can bring, maybe, something like $1 trillion of their shareholders’ money back … at a reasonable rate set by Dutch auction.

From Forbes ● Sep. 1, 2014

After dinner a sort of Dutch auction was held.

From A Century of Sail and Steam on the Niagara River by Barlow Cumberland

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