Meaning of auction in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Definitions
  3. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /ˈɔkʃ(ə)n/

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  1. Verb

    auction

    Definitions

    1. sell at an auction

    Derived terms

  2. Noun

    auction

    Etymology

    late 16th century: from Latin auctio(n-) ‘increase, auction’, from the verb augere‘to increase’

    Definitions

    1. a variety of bridge in which tricks made in excess of the contract are scored toward game

    Examples

    • « now generally superseded by contract bridge »
  3. 2. the public sale of something to the highest bidder

    Derived terms

Famous quotes

  • « My first car, I got it in an auction at my temple. It was an '86 Volvo that I got for 500 bucks, and then wound up throwing $10,000 into the stereo system and put TVs in the foot rests. It was the most ridiculous Volvo you'd ever seen, but I had never had money before and I was out of my mind. »
    Shia LaBeouf
  • « Now people look at 'The Scream' or Van Gogh's 'Irises' or a Picasso and see its new content: money. Auction houses inherently equate capital with value. »
    Jerry Saltz
  • « A saboteur in the house of art and a comedienne in the house of art theory, Lawler has spent three decades documenting the secret life of art. Functioning as a kind of one-woman CSI unit, she has photographed pictures and objects in collectors' homes, in galleries, on the walls of auction houses, and off the walls, in museum storage. »
    Jerry Saltz
  • « Auction houses run a rigged game. They know exactly how many people will be bidding on a work and exactly who they are. In a gallery, works of art need only one person who wants to pay for them. »
    Jerry Saltz

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