bid1
- to command; order; direct: to bid them depart.
- to express (a greeting, farewell, benediction, or wish): to bid good night.
- Commerce. to offer (a certain sum) as the price one will pay or charge: They bid $25,000 and got the contract.
- Cards. to enter a bid of (a given quantity or suit): to bid two no-trump.
- to summon by invitation; invite.
- to command; order; direct: I will do as you bid.
- to make a bid: She bid at the auction for the old chair.
- an act or instance of bidding.
- Cards.
- an offer to make a specified number of points or to take a specified number of tricks.
- the amount of such an offer.
- the turn of a person to bid.
- an invitation: a bid to join the club.
- an attempt to attain some goal or purpose: a bid for election.
- Also called bid price. Stock Exchange. the highest price a prospective buyer is willing to pay for a security at a given moment.
- bid in, Commerce. to overbid all offers for (property) at an auction in order to retain ownership.
- bid up, Commerce. to increase the market price of by increasing bids.
- bid fair. fair1(def 29).
Origin of bid1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for bid on Thesaurus.combid2
- past participle of bide.
bide
- Archaic. to endure; bear.
- Obsolete. to encounter.
- to dwell; abide; wait; remain.
- bide one's time, to wait for a favorable opportunity: He wanted to ask for a raise, but bided his time.
Origin of bide
Synonyms
See more synonyms for bide on Thesaurus.comb.i.d.
- (in prescriptions) twice a day.
Origin of b.i.d.
B.I.D.
- Bachelor of Industrial Design.
Examples from the Web for bid
Contemporary Examples
He lost his bid for a fourth term to George Pataki that year.
Get ready to bid farewell to the spitfire Bobby Bottleservice and big booty player Ref Jeff.
Sen. Mary Landrieu did everything she could Monday night to salvage the shards of her bid for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.
Take the Cup away from Russia now, and we will have the time for countries to bid afresh for 2018.
Lohse rushes Sigma Alpha Epsilon, gets a bid, endures pledge term, and then submits to the dehumanizing rigors of Hell Night.
Historical Examples
At all events, he was left standing on the doorstone, and no one came to bid him enter.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
Unless you do as I bid you, I will keep you in irons for the rest of the voyage!
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
I am bound for my quarters, I came but to thank you for your goodness to me, and to bid you farewell.
The Armourer's PrenticesCharlotte M. Yonge
He bid me tell you so, when he went out, if I found you refractory.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
He, with an imperious air, bid me deserve his love, and I should be sure to have it.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
bid
- (often foll by for or against) to offer (an amount) in attempting to buy something, esp in competition with others as at an auction
- commerce to respond to an offer by a seller by stating (the more favourable terms) on which one is willing to make a purchase
- (tr) to say (a greeting, blessing, etc)to bid farewell
- to order; commanddo as you are bid!
- (intr usually foll by for) to attempt to attain power, etc
- (tr) to invite; ask kindlyshe bade him sit down
- bridge to declare in the auction before play how many tricks one expects to make
- bid defiance to resist boldly
- bid fair to seem probable
- an offer of a specified amount, as at an auction
- the price offered
- commerce
- a statement by a buyer, in response to an offer by a seller, of the more favourable terms that would be acceptable
- the price or other terms so stated
- an attempt, esp an attempt to attain power
- bridge
- the number of tricks a player undertakes to make
- a player's turn to make a bid
- short for bid price
Word Origin
b.i.d.
- bis in die
Word Origin
bide
- (intr) archaic, or dialect to continue in a certain place or state; stay
- (intr) archaic, or dialect to live; dwell
- (tr) archaic, or dialect to tolerate; endure
- bide a wee Scot to stay a little
- bide by Scot to abide by
- bide one's time to wait patiently for an opportunity
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for bid
v.
probably a merger of two old words: The sense in bid farewell is from Old English biddan "to ask, entreat, pray, beseech; order; beg" (class V strong verb, past tense bæd, past participle beden), from Proto-Germanic *bidjan "to pray, entreat" (cf. German bitten "to ask," attested from 8c.), which, according to Kluge and Watkins is from a PIE root *gwhedh- "to ask, pray" (see bead (n.)).
To bid at an auction, meanwhile, is from Old English beodan "offer, proclaim" (class II strong verb; past tense bead, p.p. boden), from Proto-Germanic *biudanan "to stretch out, reach out, offer, present," (cf. German bieten "to offer"), from PIE root *bh(e)udh- "to be aware, make aware" (cf. Sanskrit bodhati "is awake, is watchful, observes," buddhah "awakened, enlightened;" Old Church Slavonic bljudo "to observe;" Lithuanian budeti "to be awake;" Old Irish buide "contentment, thanks"). As a noun, 1788, from the verb.
bide
v.
Old English bidan "to stay, continue, live, remain," also "to trust, rely" (cognate with Old Norse biða, Old Saxon bidan, Old Frisian bidia, Middle Dutch biden, Old High German bitan, Gothic beidan "to wait"), apparently from PIE *bheidh-, an extended stem of one root of Old English biddan (see bid (v.)), the original sense of which was "to command," and "to trust" (cf. Greek peithein "to persuade," pistis "faith;" Latin fidere "to trust," foedus "compact, treaty," Old Church Slavonic beda "need"). Perhaps the sense evolved in prehistoric times through "endure," and "endure a wait," to "to wait." Preserved in Scotland and northern England, replaced elsewhere by abide in all senses except to bide one's time. Related: Bided; biding.
b.i.d.
- bis in die (twice a day)