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
In November, a rare menu from the Titanic's first-class restaurant sold at auction along with a pocket watch from another man who died in the 1912 disaster.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
The Rolex 4113, produced in 1942 and one of just 12 ever made and nine known to exist, was sold on Saturday at the Monaco Legend Group auction.
—Andy Hoffman, Fortune Europe, 22 Apr. 2024
Paintings and other art pieces are regularly sold at auctions around the world.
—Scott Reyburn, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
The land will be sold at a public auction held by the Arizona State Land Department in June 27, with a starting price of $68.5 million.
—Corina Vanek, The Arizona Republic, 21 Apr. 2024
To participate in the auction, which runs through April 18, go here.
—Paul Grein, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
For tickets and to register for the auction, visit Eventbrite.com.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024
Reuters, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
One such 918 Spyder with the Weissach Package is currently being auctioned in Hong Kong via Sotheby’s Sealed.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024
Yet his administration had also auctioned off oil- and gas-drilling rights in nearly two hundred areas; there is talk that Lula may authorize the paving of a five-hundred-mile-long road through the rain forest.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
The charity will auction off the bottle for fundraising.
—The Courier-Journal, 29 Mar. 2024
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission voted Friday to abolish the state’s practice of auctioning big-game tags.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 20 Mar. 2024
The Cincinnati Cyclones will be wearing special St. Patrick's Day jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 13 Mar. 2024
In 2011, a French archaeologist identified the other missing warrior as Duryodhana — a statue Sotheby’s had planned to auction off for at least $2 million until Cambodia alleged it was stolen and asked the U.S. government for help getting it back.
—Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Now, real estate officials are pushing forward with a foreclosure proceeding this month to allow the property to be auctioned off to a bidder or returned to its lender to satisfy the unpaid debt.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
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
In November, a rare menu from the Titanic's first-class restaurant sold at auction along with a pocket watch from another man who died in the 1912 disaster.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
The Rolex 4113, produced in 1942 and one of just 12 ever made and nine known to exist, was sold on Saturday at the Monaco Legend Group auction.
—Andy Hoffman, Fortune Europe, 22 Apr. 2024
Paintings and other art pieces are regularly sold at auctions around the world.
—Scott Reyburn, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
The land will be sold at a public auction held by the Arizona State Land Department in June 27, with a starting price of $68.5 million.
—Corina Vanek, The Arizona Republic, 21 Apr. 2024
To participate in the auction, which runs through April 18, go here.
—Paul Grein, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
For tickets and to register for the auction, visit Eventbrite.com.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024
Verb
They were last auctioned in 2012 for just over $150,000.
—Reuters, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
One such 918 Spyder with the Weissach Package is currently being auctioned in Hong Kong via Sotheby’s Sealed.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024
Yet his administration had also auctioned off oil- and gas-drilling rights in nearly two hundred areas; there is talk that Lula may authorize the paving of a five-hundred-mile-long road through the rain forest.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
The charity will auction off the bottle for fundraising.
—The Courier-Journal, 29 Mar. 2024
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission voted Friday to abolish the state’s practice of auctioning big-game tags.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 20 Mar. 2024
The Cincinnati Cyclones will be wearing special St. Patrick's Day jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 13 Mar. 2024
In 2011, a French archaeologist identified the other missing warrior as Duryodhana — a statue Sotheby’s had planned to auction off for at least $2 million until Cambodia alleged it was stolen and asked the U.S. government for help getting it back.
—Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Now, real estate officials are pushing forward with a foreclosure proceeding this month to allow the property to be auctioned off to a bidder or returned to its lender to satisfy the unpaid debt.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
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 2 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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