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RELATED WORDS

enemy, competitor, candidate, foe, rival, player, challenger, opposition, aspirant, adversary, applicant, nominee, contender, contestant, successor, opposer, assailant, bandit, entrant, match

Nearby words

  1. bicycle race,
  2. bicycle racing,
  3. bicyclic,
  4. bicyclic terpene,
  5. bicyclist,
  6. bid adieu,
  7. bid in,
  8. bid price,
  9. bid up,
  10. bid-up

Idioms past bade or (Archaic) bad, past participle bid·den or bid, present participle bid·ding.

    bid fair. fair1(def 29).

Origin of bid

1
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
Related formsbid·der, noun
Can be confusedbidder bitter
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bidder

British Dictionary definitions for bidder

bid

verb bids, bidding, bad, bade, esp for senses 1, 2, 5, 7 bid, bidden or esp for senses 1, 2, 5, 7 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

noun

  1. an offer of a specified amount, as at an auction
  2. the price offered
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
an attempt, esp an attempt to attain power
bridge
  1. the number of tricks a player undertakes to make
  2. a player's turn to make a bid
short for bid price
See also bid in, bid up
Derived Formsbidder, noun

Word Origin for bid

Old English biddan; related to German bitten
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for bidder

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper