Showing results for "bid"

• past participle of bide.

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• bid
  bid

  verb (used with object)

  to command; order; direct.
• b.i.d.
  b.i.d.

  abbreviation

  (in prescriptions) twice a day.
• B.I.D.
  B.I.D.

  abbreviation

  Bachelor of Industrial Design.

bid

¹ American  

[bid] / bɪd /

verb (used with object)

bade, bad, bid, bidden, bid, bid, bidding

1. to command; order; direct.

   to bid them depart.

   Synonyms:

   enjoin, require, charge

2. to express (a greeting, farewell, benediction, or wish).

   to bid good night.

3. Commerce. to offer (a certain sum) as the price one will pay or charge.

   They bid $25,000 and got the contract.

   Synonyms:

   proffer, tender, offer

4. Cards. to enter a bid of (a given quantity or suit).

   to bid two no-trump.

5. to summon by invitation; invite.

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verb (used without object)

bade, bad, bid, bidden, bid, bid, bidding

1. to command; order; direct.

   I will do as you bid.

2. to make a bid.

   She bid at the auction for the old chair.

noun

• bids
  plural

1. an act or instance of bidding.

   Synonyms:

   proffer, proposal, offer

2. Cards.

   1. an offer to make a specified number of points or to take a specified number of tricks.

   2. the amount of such an offer.

   3. the turn of a person to bid.

3. an invitation.

   a bid to join the club.

4. an attempt to attain some goal or purpose.

   a bid for election.

5. Also called bid price. Stock Exchange. the highest price a prospective buyer is willing to pay for a security at a given moment.

verb phrase

1. bid up to increase the market price of by increasing bids.

2. bid in to overbid all offers for (property) at an auction in order to retain ownership.

idioms

1. bid fair. fair.

bid ² American  

[bid] / bɪd /

verb

Archaic.

1. past participle of bide.

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b.i.d. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. (in prescriptions) twice a day.

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B.I.D. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Bachelor of Industrial Design.

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bid ¹ British  

/ bɪd /

verb

1. to offer (an amount) in attempting to buy something, esp in competition with others as at an auction

2. commerce to respond to an offer by a seller by stating (the more favourable terms) on which one is willing to make a purchase

3. (tr) to say (a greeting, blessing, etc)

   to bid farewell

4. to order; command

   do as you are bid!

5. to attempt to attain power, etc

6. (tr) to invite; ask kindly

   she bade him sit down

7. bridge to declare in the auction before play how many tricks one expects to make

8. to resist boldly

9. to seem probable

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noun

1. 1. an offer of a specified amount, as at an auction

   2. the price offered

2. commerce

   1. a statement by a buyer, in response to an offer by a seller, of the more favourable terms that would be acceptable

   2. the price or other terms so stated

3. an attempt, esp an attempt to attain power

4. bridge

   1. the number of tricks a player undertakes to make

   2. a player's turn to make a bid

5. short for bid price

b.i.d. ² British  

abbreviation

1. bis in die

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bidder
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bids
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bid¹

before 900; Middle English bidden, Old English biddan to beg, ask; cognate with Old Frisian bidda, Old Saxon biddian, Old High German bittan ( German bitten ), Old Norse bithja, Gothic bidjan; all < Germanic *bid-ja- (< Indo-European *bhidh- ) command, akin to Greek peíthein to persuade, inspire with trust, English bide

Origin of b.i.d.³

From Latin bis in diē

Explanation

If you make the winning bid on an item, you offer the highest price and get to take it home. Congratulations, and enjoy your new paper weight! Bid comes from an Old English word meaning “to offer,” which is right in line with its meaning today. To bid is the act of offering a bid, or more generally to try to get something. With several companies bidding for your services, you have a lot to consider. Tip: go where the weather's warmest.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bid bids bad bade bidden bidding

Interest rates for the PBOC’s pledged supplementary lending will be lowered by 0.25 percentage points to 1.5%, in a bid to better support the real economy, said the PBOC.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Northern Star said the Gold Fields bid was subject to several onerous conditions and requirements, and that a deal would have exposed its shareholders to jurisdictional and operational risks given its significant equity component.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Bardella in 2025 made an unprecedented visit to Israel, the first by a French far-right leader, in a bid to demonstrate the RN's new credentials.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Former Rep. Cori Bush raked in more cash from California donors than in-state supporters in her bid to unseat incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, the seat she had held previously.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Aunt Loma bid first, her and Uncle Camp.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Peltz has launched multiple bids to take over the chain, most recently in February and August, before deciding he would wait to see if Wendy’s newest CEO, Bob Wright, could turn the flagging operation around.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

Some vessels urgently needing to transit on a specific date submit aggressive bids and that is what accounted for the recent sums, she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Sabalenka will next face either American third seed Jessica Pegula or her compatriot Emma Navarro, seeded 26th, as she bids to reach a fourth consecutive US Open final.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

North American bartenders on Reddit asked for substitution and shipping suggestions in bids to re-create the spritz they tried in Europe, while local publications later wrote guides to finding the cocktail in their area.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Then, at school, the instruction bids him to trust lonely reason primarily.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

If you are consciously aware that you're pretending or you're saying things that aren't true, then it's bad acting.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

From a practical perspective, I’m not sure you can make a bad decision, provided you can comfortably afford whichever option you choose.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

The Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and existing authorities are sufficient to hold accountable bad actors using AI for nefarious purposes, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

“It’s not just his enunciation, which, like, was super bad, especially last year,” one person said about Barnes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

"You men are being punished for your bad behavior," Don Quixote told the convicts, "but since I know you don't want to go where you're being taken, I'll ask this guard to set you free."

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

The royals packed their suitcases, bade farewell to the palace staff, and climbed into an armored Mercedes that drove them to a nearby rail station.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

On Thursday, White House officials bade farewell to one of the two heavily modified Boeing 747s that have transported US presidents for decades, which fueled speculation that the new jet would be unveiled imminently.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

Both are alarmed by the sudden reappearance of a Frenchman nicknamed Beast, to whom they’d each bade goodbye years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

But once her delight settled into relief, she gently bade the young ones to return to their seats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2025

But in a quiet voice Denethor bade them lay warm coverlets on Faramir’s bed and take it up.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

When and if you are bidden to the journey by a POC who has granted you a brief visit to the darker side of human nature, explore safely.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2020

Christopher Meloni, Richard Belzer, Dann Florek, and many others may have bidden the show farewell, but Mariska Hargitay, Kelli Giddish, and, yes, Ice-T are killing it these days.

From Slate ● Dec. 26, 2014

Hallowed by custom on many a U. S. campus are those annual rites to which prospective football material from nearby high schools is bidden to be entertained, inspected and secured.

From Time Magazine Archive

Singly the bidden callers were ushered in to blandly smiling Col.

From Time Magazine Archive

Gawaine observed sarcastically: “It will be safe enough for you, my mannie. We ken the King has bidden Lancelot not hurt ye.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Noth, 71, who famously starred as Mr. Big in the hit HBO series, is bidding farewell to the one-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom abode more than three decades after purchasing it in 1994.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

That obligation is expected to add $7 million a day to the cost of the $31 a share that Paramount agreed to pay Warner shareholders when it won the bidding war back in February.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

The 29-year-old Briton is bidding for the crowning moment of his 10-year professional career at T-Mobile Arena.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Around the country, students who learn about the artwork in history classes are gearing up for school trips, while businesses are bidding to capitalise on some of the fervour.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Because the least valued oil leases were offered first, the barons usually lingered in the back, leaving the initial bidding to upstarts.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Related Words

• advance
• offer
• price
• proposal
• request
• suggestion