Auction: How a Price Is Found by Bidding
An auction is a public sale where buyers bid and the highest offer wins. The Latin root means increase, which describes the whole mechanism in a single word.
An auction is a sale in which the price is discovered rather than set. Bidders raise each other until only one is left, and the auctioneer closes the lot. The seller never has to name a price; the room does it for them.
- A public sale by bidding (noun). *The painting went to auction in May.*
- To sell in this way (verb). *They auctioned the whole estate.*
- A competitive process by extension. *An auction for broadcasting rights.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | auction | A charity auction. |
| Verb | auction | They will auction the car. |
| Phrasal | auction off | He auctioned off his collection. |
| Person | auctioneer | The auctioneer raised his hammer. |
| Adjective | auctioned | The auctioned items were listed online. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The house sold at auction for well over the guide price.At auction, without an article, is the fixed phrase.
- Lot 42 failed to reach its reserve.The reserve is the lowest price the seller will accept.
- Going once, going twice — sold.The traditional call that closes a lot.
Words you meet in the saleroom
- Lot — one item or group sold together
- Reserve — the secret minimum price
- Guide price — the estimate published beforehand
- Hammer price — the winning bid, before fees
- Buyer's premium — the commission added on top
From Latin *auctio*, an increase, from *augere*, to increase. The name describes the rising bids. A Dutch auction reverses this, starting high and falling until someone accepts, so it is an auction whose root word points the wrong way.
Does the highest bid always win?
Not if it is below the reserve. The lot is then unsold, however loud the bidding was.
Is auction off different from auction?
Barely. *Auction off* suggests clearing everything out, so it fits estates, stock and old equipment.