auction

noun

Save Word

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 Just two oil companies and an Alaska economic development corporation bought the right to explore for oil and gas on tracts in the refuge’s coastal plain during that January auction. — BostonGlobe.com, 1 June 2021 It can be done through direct sale or auction and preferably involves non-strategic assets. — Chor Meng Tan, Forbes, 1 June 2021 The fundraiser includes dining, drinks, illusions and a live auction along with an overview of the center. — Linda Mcintosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 June 2021 The car is one of the lots being presented at Barrett-Jackson’s upcoming live auction at the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center from June 17 through 19. — Robert Ross, Robb Report, 31 May 2021 Auction Frog is the registration and auction partner with Party in Plaid event. — courant.com, 28 May 2021 But the sky-high auction price shocked the art world, including Jerry Saltz, the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic from New York magazine. — Roger Catlin, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 May 2021 But buyers had the last laugh after a bankruptcy court this month approved a winning auction bid in which Hertz stockholders would get more than $7 a share. — Alexander Osipovich, WSJ, 27 May 2021 The clip will soon be removed from YouTube, according to a website set up for the NFT's auction. — Catherine Thorbecke, ABC News, 24 May 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The First Cup Win NFT will have nine available and will auction starting at $1,000. — Callie Caplan, Dallas News, 17 May 2021 In 2007, automotive designer Carol Shelby helped auction it himself. — Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 29 Mar. 2021 An agent representing a promising author or buzzworthy book often hopes to auction it to the highest bidder. — New York Times, 25 Feb. 2021 These new shares would initially belong to the government, which could auction them off, but the effect would be to dilute the value of each of the company’s shares. — Jed S. Rakoff, The New York Review of Books, 17 Nov. 2020 On the 14th anniversary of the video, the family will auction the rights in its new NFT form. — Asha C. Gilbert, USA TODAY, 21 May 2021 Oshea will auction the new piece to benefit The Colon Cancer Foundation, with 50 percent of the proceeds going toward their work to end the disease that led to Boseman's death in August 2020. — Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 11 May 2021 Before failure to auction off the last block, Rio had forecast investment in works worth about 30 billion reais and 2.6 billion reais to clean up Guanabara Bay over the coming five years. — David Biller, ajc, 30 Apr. 2021 Curry plans to auction the shoes worn in Sunday’s game in coming weeks and donate all the proceeds to the eight victims’ families. — Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 Apr. 2021

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.