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
Arkansas Online, 4 Jan. 2026
Now, these 25 are up for auction to the public, giving the Zitos an opportunity to raise even more money for cancer research through the endeavor.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2026
Kristina Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Dec. 2025
The example currently being auctioned on the SBX Cars site is a 914/4 from 1970.
—Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for auction
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Noun
Your partner's call sets up a forcing auction -- for better or worse.
—Arkansas Online, 4 Jan. 2026
Now, these 25 are up for auction to the public, giving the Zitos an opportunity to raise even more money for cancer research through the endeavor.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2026
Verb
Tents, chariots and other production gear were auctioned off so the couple could pay their creditors.
—Kristina Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Dec. 2025
The example currently being auctioned on the SBX Cars site is a 914/4 from 1970.
—Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 22 Dec. 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 5 Jan. 2026.
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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