subasta

auction

noun soob-AHS-tah Less Common

Origin: From Latin sub hasta (under the spear), referring to the Roman practice of marking sold goods with a spear.

Usage Note

Subasta is the standard word for an auction. The verb is subastar (to auction off) and the phrase en subasta pública means 'at public auction'. Note that subasta begins with sub-, not su- — a common spelling error.

Examples

"El cuadro se vendió en subasta."

Natural Translation

The painting was sold at auction.

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