auction

auction Definition

auc·tion (ôk′s̸hən)

noun

a public sale at which items are sold one by one, each going to the last and highest of a series of competing bidders
auction bridge
the bidding in bridge
Finance a sale of government securities in which competitive bidding determines their yield

Etymology: L auctio, an increasing, sale by increase of bids < auctus, pp. of augere, to increase: see wax

transitive verb

to sell at an auction

auction Idioms

auction off

to sell at auction

put up at auction

☆

to offer for sale at an auction

auction Synonyms

disposal, public sale, bankruptcy sale; see sale 2.

auction Synonyms

sell at auction, auctioneer, put on the block*, put under the hammer*; see sell 1. See syn. study at sell.

auction Law Definition

See sale.

auction Usage Examples

Preposition: on

ebay: The sign, formerly owned by Merton Council, was sold to a private individual who then offered it for auction on eBay.

Adjective modifier

silent: He also made 100 by running a silent auction with his wonderful image of the two dolphins in the waves.
Dutch: Dutch auctions On a Dutch Auction, the auctioneer has more than one item of the same product for sale.
reverse: Payne said there were no immediate plans to use reverse auctions, but fell short of ruling them out completely ( see News ).
online: The process is not simply about staging an online auction in order to make savings for the customer.
on-line: Vendors can ' see ' the on-line auction to follow the progress of the sale of their goods without being able to participate.

Converse of object

fundrais: We all know how popular items of sports memorabilia are at fundraising auctions.

Modifies a noun

mart: While many independent butchers are buying farm assured stock at auction marts the meat seldom gets sold with the SSS tag.
ebay: Leading internet auction site eBay has banned cash transactions from its listings to help combat the growth of scam.. .
processthe: Deals for coverage the rate at auction processthe new united states of.
auto: Up in a identity auction auto car exotic insurance salvage outside the show had to.
house: Most auction houses hold regular auction sales with a.. .
catalog: There will be contact details provided within the auction catalog for any legal or planning queries.

Preposition: of

memorabile: The evening featured an auction of sports memorabilia, which raised an additional £ 600.

Noun used with modifier

ebay: Check out our ebay auctions for great on-line bargains.
arizona: Eligibility arizona auction auto insurance southern procedures the two to seven.
salvage: For insurance salvage auto auction the best policy before giving appointedsome people go to increase your.
auto: Payment insurance auto auction at all determine the cost.
charity: We will be holding a special charity auction hosted by eBay.
california: Account deductions or doing that required apply when insurance one-on-one california insurance auto auction meetings to.

auction Quotes

There is a kind of laughter people laugh at public events, as if a joke were a charity auction and they want to be seen to be bidding.

—McIlvanney,William Angus

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