Phrasal verb
auction off
Definition
phrasal verb. to sell something to the person who offers the most money at a public sale.
phrasal verb. to dispose of assets or property via an auction process; typically implies a desire to clear stock or liquidate assets quickly.
Examples
“The bank will auction off the old house next week.”
“After the gallery closed, the owners decided to auction off the remaining paintings to pay their debts.”
“The government intends to auction off the telecommunications spectrum to the highest bidders among the competing national providers.”
Examples
simple
“The bank will auction off the old house next week.”
contextual
“After the gallery closed, the owners decided to auction off the remaining paintings to pay their debts.”
complex
“The government intends to auction off the telecommunications spectrum to the highest bidders among the competing national providers.”
Usage
usually used when selling multiple items or a large property to the highest bidder.
Teaching tip
the particle 'off' often suggests a sense of completion or getting rid of something, similar to 'sell off' or 'clear out'.
Pitfall
They auctioned the furniture off to the museum.
They auctioned off the furniture to the museum.
While technically separable, 'auction off' is most commonly used with the object following the particle, especially for long noun phrases.
Phrasal verb
Particles
off
Separability
optional
Pattern
auction + off + object
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/auction-off