auction

From Latin auctiō (“an increase, auction”), from Latin augere (“to increase”).

enPR: ôk'shən

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɔːkʃən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔkʃən/
  • (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɑkʃən/

    • Audio (US):

      (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔːkʃən

enPR: ŏk'shən

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈɔkʃən/
• Rhymes: -ɒkʃən

auction (plural auctions)

1. A public event where goods or property are sold to the highest bidder.
   • 2014 July 12, “Competition, hammered”, in The Economist, volume 412, number 8895:

     Auctions come in a wide variety. In a “Dutch auction”, often used to sell flowers and fruit, prices start high and gradually drop until a bidder is willing to pay up. A “Japanese auction” is a bit like poker: bids rise with each round and anyone who wants to win must bid every time. Vendors using auctions rid themselves of the headache of choosing prices and instead just pick the rules bidders must follow.

2. (bridge) The first stage of a deal, in which players bid to determine the final contract.

• roup sale

auction (third-person singular simple present auctions, present participle auctioning, simple past and past participle auctioned)

1. To sell at an auction.

• bid
• bidder

• caution, tauonic