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
Bob Sorokanich, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2024
Simpson was forced to sell his Brentwood home of 20 years at auction several months later; it was razed in 1998.
—Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The Coyotes hope to buy the property from the Arizona State Land Department at auction in June.
—Sam Kmack, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
More film celebrities have joined the Cinema for Gaza auction looking to raise funds for the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) before final bids are accepted on Friday.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
The additional works will be sold at auction through Christie's in May, and Gagosian will continue with a selling exhibition this summer.
—Samantha Brooks, Vogue, 10 Apr. 2024
Just as the Buffett auctions did, the weeklong Benioff lunch auction will begin May 5 with an opening bid of $25,000 and continue through June 10.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024
The auction listing shows the spelling was corrected.
—The Enquirer, 8 Apr. 2024
There will be silent and live auctions and stories from clients about how their lives have been changed by Home Start’s programs.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024
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
Stolen ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers to go on international tour before being auctioned
The slippers were returned to their owner, nearly 20 years after the iconic shoes were stolen from a museum in the late actor’s hometown.
—Steve Karnowski and Jim Salter, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024
The Biden administration has approved six commercial-scale offshore wind energy projects, and auctioned lease areas for offshore wind for the first time off the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts.
—Jennifer McDermott, Fortune Europe, 14 Mar. 2024
The top 100 stamps from the collection will be auctioned off on June 14, while the remaining stamps will be sold on June 15.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024
This year Arizona’s statewide desert bighorn sheep license was auctioned for a record $430,000 at the Wild Sheep Foundation’s annual convention held in January in Reno, Nevada.
—Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 13 Mar. 2024
Holsten’s in Bloomfield, New Jersey, is auctioning off the original booth that character Tony Soprano and his family sat at during the final scene of the HBO series The Sopranos.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2024
Eight watches from the collection of Michael Schumacher highlighting milestones in the career of the seven-time Formula One champion will be auctioned by Christie’s in Geneva and may fetch millions.
—Andy Hoffman, Fortune Europe, 20 Mar. 2024
Noun
Photo : Mercedes-Benz AG The most expensive car ever sold is a Mercedes
In 2022, an extremely rare Mercedes-Benz shattered records, becoming the most expensive car ever sold at auction.
—Bob Sorokanich, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2024
Simpson was forced to sell his Brentwood home of 20 years at auction several months later; it was razed in 1998.
—Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The Coyotes hope to buy the property from the Arizona State Land Department at auction in June.
—Sam Kmack, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
More film celebrities have joined the Cinema for Gaza auction looking to raise funds for the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) before final bids are accepted on Friday.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
The additional works will be sold at auction through Christie's in May, and Gagosian will continue with a selling exhibition this summer.
—Samantha Brooks, Vogue, 10 Apr. 2024
Just as the Buffett auctions did, the weeklong Benioff lunch auction will begin May 5 with an opening bid of $25,000 and continue through June 10.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024
The auction listing shows the spelling was corrected.
—The Enquirer, 8 Apr. 2024
There will be silent and live auctions and stories from clients about how their lives have been changed by Home Start’s programs.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024
Verb
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
Stolen ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers to go on international tour before being auctioned
The slippers were returned to their owner, nearly 20 years after the iconic shoes were stolen from a museum in the late actor’s hometown.
—Steve Karnowski and Jim Salter, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024
The Biden administration has approved six commercial-scale offshore wind energy projects, and auctioned lease areas for offshore wind for the first time off the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts.
—Jennifer McDermott, Fortune Europe, 14 Mar. 2024
The top 100 stamps from the collection will be auctioned off on June 14, while the remaining stamps will be sold on June 15.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024
This year Arizona’s statewide desert bighorn sheep license was auctioned for a record $430,000 at the Wild Sheep Foundation’s annual convention held in January in Reno, Nevada.
—Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 13 Mar. 2024
Holsten’s in Bloomfield, New Jersey, is auctioning off the original booth that character Tony Soprano and his family sat at during the final scene of the HBO series The Sopranos.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2024
Eight watches from the collection of Michael Schumacher highlighting milestones in the career of the seven-time Formula One champion will be auctioned by Christie’s in Geneva and may fetch millions.
—Andy Hoffman, Fortune Europe, 20 Mar. 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.
Word History
Phrases Containing auction
Dictionary Entries Near auction
Cite this Entry
“Auction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auction. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
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
Legal Definition
auction
noun
auc·tion
: a public sale of property to the highest bidder see also reserve
More from Merriam-Webster on auction
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for auction
Nglish: Translation of auction for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of auction for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about auction
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