auction

1 of 2

noun

auc·​tion ˈȯk-shən 

1

: a sale of property to the highest bidder

2

: the act or process of bidding in some card games

auction

2 of 2

verb

auctioned; auctioning ˈȯk-sh(ə-)niŋ 

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 skirt and bag seen in her iconic 1999 Whitney Museum look are up for auction. —Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 21 Feb. 2026

The government sold the place for a song − $76,008 at a public auction − before the buyer flipped it for $195,000. —Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026

Verb

That, in turn, spares those jurisdictions from going through the more cumbersome process of auctioning off the vehicles, backers of the bill said. —David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026

In the last couple of weeks a very troubling development came to light with the announcement that Heritage Auctions is auctioning off over 200 items of Tom Seaver memorabilia. —Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Latin auction-, auctio, from augēre to increase — more at eke

First Known Use

Noun

1595, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1723, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing auction

• auction bridge
• auction house
• silent auction
• up for auction

Rhymes for auction

• concoction
• decoction

Kids 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

auction

2 of 2 verb

auctioned; auctioning -sh(ə-)niŋ 

: to sell at auction

Etymology

Noun

from Latin auction-, auctio, from augēre "to increase" — related to augment

Legal Definition

auction

noun

auc·​tion

: a public sale of property to the highest bidder see also reserve