bidding

[bid-ing]

noun

1. command; summons; invitation.

   I went there at his bidding.

2. bids bid collectively, or a period during which bids bid are made or received.

   The bidding began furiously.

3. a bid. bide.

bidding

/ ˈbɪdɪŋ /

noun

1. an order; command (often in the phrases do or follow the bidding of , at someone's bidding )

2. an invitation; summons

3. the act of making bids, as at an auction or in bridge

4. bridge a group of bids considered collectively, esp those made on a particular deal

Word History and Origins

Origin of bidding¹

Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; bid ¹, -ing ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. do someone's bidding, to submit to someone's orders; perform services for someone.

   After he was promoted to vice president at the bank, he expected everyone around him to do his bidding.

Example Sentences

Raab’s boss was sold, and instructed her to “take the novel off the table” in a preemptive deal that would prevent other publishers from bidding.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Norris, 49, is bidding for release from his life sentence after being jailed in 2012 for Stephen's murder.

Read more on BBC

He is bidding to be released from prison on licence, 13 years after being handed a life sentence for murdering Stephen in 1993.

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While Hoover publicly proclaimed his FBI independent of politics, he sometimes did the bidding of presidents, including Nixon.

Read more on Salon

Sure, the official said, but then he reminded me that bidding wars are not always at the major league level, for millions of dollars.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• auction 
• tender