auction

noun

auc·tion | \ ˈȯk-shən

Definition of auction

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a sale of property to the highest bidder

2 : the act or process of bidding in some card games

auction

verb

auctioned; auctioning\ ˈȯk-sh(ə-)niŋ

Definition of auction (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to sell at auction auctioned off his library

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: Noun

The helix staircase was removed in 1983 to make way for new elevators, according to the Artcurial auction house. — Meredith Carey, Condé Nast Traveler, "The Eiffel Tower's Original Staircase Is for Sale," 27 Nov. 2018 Artcurial, an international auction house based in Paris, will be accepting bids on a true piece of history. — Taylor Mead, House Beautiful, "Make This Piece Of The Eiffel Tower A Part Of Your Home For $45K," 21 Nov. 2018 No reward is being offered, but a car of this significance would no doubt be worth quite a bit on the auction block. — Gary Gastelu, Fox News, "The search is on for the first Lotus sports car, lost 68 years ago," 24 Sep. 2018 Last year alone, his administration put 11.9 million acres on the auction block. — Zack Colman, Scientific American, "A Trump Oil Boom Could Transform This Rocky Mountain Landscape," 13 July 2018 At that time, various Gawker staffers were absorbed by other Gizmodo Media Group sites, and all of those—Gizmodo, Jezebel, Deadspin, Lifehacker, Splinter, The Root, Kotaku, Earther, and Jalopnik—are now on the auction block. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Two years after buying, Univision wants to sell its Gawker, Onion portfolios," 11 July 2018 According to The Washington Post, several versions of the Zara coat are being sold on online auction house eBay, hitting prices close to $1,000. — Avery Matera, Teen Vogue, "Melania Trump’s Zara Jacket Is Selling on eBay for Almost $1000," 28 June 2018 Freeman’s auction house sold 14 Carles paintings from the Ottenberg collection on Sunday – with all going above low estimates, a Freeman’s spokeswoman said. — Stephan Salisbury, Philly.com, "Woodmere acquires vast trove of Arthur Carles' art," 5 June 2018 The Poway house where the late San Diego Padres great Tony Gwynn lived until his death in 2014, and where his wife, Alicia, continues to reside, is going on the auction block next week. — J. Harry Jones, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Tony Gwynn's home in Poway foreclosed upon," 2 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The sale of the 'Pond Lily' Table Lamp, which dates back to 1903, was auctioned off at Christie's in New York City on December 13. — Taylor Mead, House Beautiful, "A Tiffany Lamp Just Sold For $3.37 Million At Auction," 13 Dec. 2018 It was recently found by his wife, and the contents [were] auctioned off. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "What’s in your bag, Adam Savage?," 7 Sep. 2018 An immaculate 1978 Ford Pinto Squire Wagon was auctioned Thursday night for an eye-popping $33,000. — Gary Gastelu, Fox News, "What may be the world's most expensive Ford Pinto sold for $33,000," 24 Aug. 2018 Still, the massive classic gaming collection being auctioned off in suburban New Jersey today deserves attention for the sheer volume of retro gaming pieces being sold off in one place. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "One man is auctioning off 40 years of gaming history today," 31 May 2018 Many of them were auctioned off online in February, according to a listing with Michigan Restaurant Liquidations and Auctions. — Mark Kurlyandchik, Detroit Free Press, "The Stand restaurant in Birmingham to become new venture for One-Eyed Betty's co-founders," 23 May 2018 If nobody is found after a waiting period of year, the plane gets auctioned off. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "Nobody Wants to Claim This Abandoned Airplane at Madrid's Main Airport," 28 Jan. 2019 What other piece could possibly be auctioned from the @toureiffelofficielle ? . — Taylor Mead, House Beautiful, "Make This Piece Of The Eiffel Tower A Part Of Your Home For $45K," 21 Nov. 2018 Two other full-floor homes will be auctioned with suggested opening bids of $4.85 million and $5 million, representing discounts of more than 30% off their original prices. — Katherine Clarke, WSJ, "In Sluggish NYC Market, Manhattan Lofts Go on Rare Auction," 3 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'auction.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.