silent auction

noun

An auction where people write secret bids on a piece of paper, and whoever has the highest bid wins the item.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounsilent auction (plural silent auctions)

plural silent auctions

  1. An auction where people write secret bids on a piece of paper, and whoever has the highest bid wins the item.

    A well-run silent auction for a normal event should raise anything between $500 and $3000 and sometimes, considerably more.

    2003, Kevin B. Kent, Fundraising for the small community, page 43
  2. An auction held over a long period of time where people write public bids on a piece of paper, and whoever has the highest bid wins the item.
Cite this entry
APA

silent auction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silent%20auction

MLA

“silent auction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silent%20auction. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “silent auction,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silent%20auction.

Source: silent auction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.