SINCE 1828
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)
: 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
As the final moments of the auction remained, a Y2K-meets-Mars 2112 atmosphere descended. — Kaitlyn Weiss, Vogue, "Inside BAM’s Otherworldy Gala Honoring Ethan Hawke and Walter Mosley," 16 May 2019 An auction would certainly attract Apple and Qualcomm as serious bidders, but other companies such as Samsung and Google could also get in on it. — Michael Simon, PCWorld, "Intel’s exit leaves Qualcomm in full control of the 5G smartphone modem roadmap," 17 Apr. 2019 Public-lands lease sales are quarterly auctions administered by the federal government’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) during which oil and gas developers bid for leases to drill on public lands. — Maia Wikler, Teen Vogue, "Activists Protest Bureau of Land Management Leasing That Allow Oil and Gas Drilling on Public Lands," 15 Apr. 2019 It’ll be specially crafted for whoever wins the auction, and made to fit up to a US size 5. — Dami Lee, The Verge, "Jony Ive and Marc Newson designed a $250,000 all-diamond ring for charity," 24 Nov. 2018 All donations and proceeds from the auction will go to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and will establish a fund with the City of Pittsburgh Dept. of Public Safety in support of the police officers injured on October 27th. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "Moving On and Making a Difference in the Wake of the Tree of Life Shooting," 2 Nov. 2018 Depending on its condition, that one stamp is worth a small fortune–a single Inverted Jenny has sold at auction for more than $500,000 in recent years. — Daniel Fernandez, Smithsonian, "How the Inverted Jenny, a 24-Cent Stamp, Came to Be Worth a Fortune," 15 May 2018 Garces emphasized that operations at the company, including a catering division, would continue after the auction. — Michael Klein, Philly.com, "Distrito in Moorestown to close as sale of Garces restaurants to go forward," 31 May 2018 Buyers will need to bring a $10,000 cashier's check to bid, and closings must take place 30 days after the auction. — Nancy Sarnoff, Houston Chronicle, "Flooded Meyerland houses to sell at auction," 16 May 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Bottura created a special bottling of scotch whisky with The Dalmore which will be auctioned at Sotheby's this spring. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "Chef Massimo Bottura Is Debuting a Luxury Scotch for Charity," 28 Feb. 2019 Three of the units at the five-unit building, located at 6 Cortlandt Alley in Tribeca, will be auctioned off November 10, said Misha Haghani, owner of Paramount. — Katherine Clarke, WSJ, "In Sluggish NYC Market, Manhattan Lofts Go on Rare Auction," 3 Oct. 2018 The lot, which will be auctioned on July 21, has a pre-sale estimate of $5,287 to $7,930. — James Rogers, Fox News, "Never-before-seen Winston Churchill WWII photos surface," 13 July 2018 The new owner of a storage locker that was auctioned off last month in Anne Arundel County, Maryland made a disturbing discovery, police said. — Crystal Hill, miamiherald, "A storage locker was sold at auction. It led to rape charges against its owner, Maryland cops say | Miami Herald," 6 Apr. 2018 The team will wear throwback grey uniforms and caps with text in the vintage Yankees navy blue script that will be auctioned off to benefit the Friends of Rickwood and their continuing efforts to preserve the ballpark. — Cheryl Wray, AL.com, "Rickwood Classic back at historic field for May game," 28 Feb. 2018 The Milwaukee Brewers and all Major League Baseball teams wore Marjory Stoneman Douglas hats during their Spring Training openers, caps that will be auctioned off to benefit victims of the shooting. — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "'This is why we will not shut up and dribble': Dwyane Wade on Parkland shooting victim's burial in his jersey," 26 Feb. 2018 Under the plan, New Jersey would auction off $250 million worth of tax credits to businesses over five years and use the proceeds to fund the program, which is part of his proposal to overhaul economic-development efforts. — Joseph De Avila, WSJ, "New Jersey Governor Proposes Partnering With VC Funds," 20 Mar. 2019 The federal government auctioned nine San Antonio-area properties Wednesday, including four former barber shops, that were seized from a heroin-smuggling ring that brought in about $8 million of the drug in 2014 and 2015. — Guillermo Contreras, San Antonio Express-News, "Barber shops, real estate seized from drug ring auctioned for $1.4 million," 11 July 2018These 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.
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More Definitions for auction
auction
noun
English Language Learners Definition of auction
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a public sale at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most
auction
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of auction (Entry 2 of 2)
: to sell (something) at an auction
See the full definition for auction in the English Language Learners Dictionary
auction
noun
auc·tion
| \ ˈȯk-shən
\
\
Kids Definition of auction
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a public sale at which things are sold to those who offer to pay the most
auction
verb
auctioned;
auctioning
Kids Definition of auction (Entry 2 of 2)
: to sell at an auction
The art was auctioned today.
auction
noun
auc·tion
Legal Definition of auction
: a public sale of property to the highest bidder — see also reserve
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