1
: a sale of property to the highest bidder
2
: the act or process of bidding in some card games
Examples of auction in a Sentence
Noun
She bought the desk at an auction.
He made several bids at the auction.
Verb
They auctioned a similar desk last year.
The house was auctioned last week.
Recent Examples on the Web
Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 29 Apr. 2024
While unlikely to be in your wallet, a $10,000 bill dating back to 1934 sold for $470,000 in Dallas at another Heritage Auctions auction.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for auction 
Noun
The watch was snapped up by an American collector for £1.175 million at the sale on Saturday, becoming the most expensive piece of Titanic memorabilia to be sold at auction.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 29 Apr. 2024
While unlikely to be in your wallet, a $10,000 bill dating back to 1934 sold for $470,000 in Dallas at another Heritage Auctions auction.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for auction
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'auction.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near auction
Cite this Entry
“Auction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auction. Accessed 4 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
auction
1 of 2 noun
auc·tion
ˈȯk-shən 
: a sale at which things are sold to those who offer to pay the most
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