auction

B2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈɔkʃən/ UK /ˈɔːkʃən/ See IPA manual

Freq #5332

Meanings

1

noun
A public sale where goods are sold to the person who offers the most money.

The painting sold for a record price at the auction.
2

verb
To sell something at an auction to the highest bidder.

After falling on hard times, the collector auctioned his finest paintings.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with auction

auction off Phrasal verb B2

to sell something to the person who offers the highest price at a public sale

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a public sale where goods... auction sale

2 verb · to sell something at an... auction off

Word family

Forms auctionedauctioningauctions

Derived forms auction-goerauctionableauctioneerauctioneeressauctionerauctiongoerauctionlikecyberauctione-auctionmidauctionnonauctionpostauction

Related forms augment

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Auction comes from Latin auctio, meaning “an increase,” derived from augere, “to increase.” The origin reflects the way competing bids rise during an auction. Augment and author share the same Latin root.

Etymology

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

*h₂ewg- Proto-Indo-European auctiō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# auction

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈɔkʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɔːkʃən/
**Frequency rank:** 5332

## Meanings
1. A public sale where goods are sold to the person who offers the most money.
2. To sell something at an auction to the highest bidder.

## Examples
- The painting sold for a record price at the auction.
- After falling on hard times, the collector auctioned his finest paintings.

## Derived Forms
- auction-goer
- auctionable
- auctioneer
- auctioneeress
- auctioner
- auctiongoer
- auctionlike
- cyberauction
- e-auction
- midauction
- nonauction
- postauction

## Related Forms
- augment

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₂ewg-
- Root: auctiō

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

## AI Etymology
Auction is from Latin auctiō (“an increase, auction”), from augere (“to increase”). Important recorded forms include *h₂ewg- (Proto-Indo-European) and auctiō (Latin). Current senses include a public sale where goods are sold to the person who offers the most money and to sell something at an auction to the highest bidder. The wider family includes derived forms such as auction-goer, auctionable, auctioneer, auctioneeress, and auctioner and related words such as augment.

## Topics
- People & Society

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