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
Hannah Malach, Footwear News, 11 July 2025
Pop the hood so that the auction staff can open it.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 July 2025
Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli (then at the helm of Valentino) designed a one-off golden couture gown that was auctioned off at the Cannes amfAR Gala in 2013 for Cinema Against Aids.
—Jordan Wake, Vogue, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for auction
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Noun
Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin auction Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin bag was sold for 8.6 million euros, about $10.1 million, at Sotheby’s in Paris on July 10, becoming the most valuable handbag ever sold at auction.
—Hannah Malach, Footwear News, 11 July 2025
Pop the hood so that the auction staff can open it.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 July 2025
Verb
Another was auctioned to St. Francis, once located at Broadway and Second Street.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli (then at the helm of Valentino) designed a one-off golden couture gown that was auctioned off at the Cannes amfAR Gala in 2013 for Cinema Against Aids.
—Jordan Wake, Vogue, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for auction
Cite this Entry
“Auction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auction. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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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