noun
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an order; command (often in the phrases do or follow the bidding of , at someone's bidding )
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an invitation; summons
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the act of making bids, as at an auction or in bridge
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bridge a group of bids considered collectively, esp those made on a particular deal
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bidding
Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; see origin at bid 1, -ing 1
Explanation
A person's bidding is what he or she tells you to do for them. You do your brother's bidding when he asks you to bring him his shoes and you comply. Doing your boss's bidding is usually part of a job description, although doing your cousin's or boyfriend's bidding usually isn't required — at least, it shouldn't be. When you are invited to eat at a friend's house, you might have to watch a slide show from his trip to Hawaii after dinner at his bidding. Bidding stems from the verb bid, with its Old English root of biddan, "ask, entreat, beseech, or order."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Netflix has explored bidding for the rights to the Emmy Awards in recent years, but the streamer was not able to come up with a deal that made economic sense.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
Live sports remain one of the few types of programming that can reliably draw large audiences, fueling a bidding war among media companies and streaming services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 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
“Very well, very well. We’ll see how you fare without me. You’ll get no one else to do your bidding at Rekh the goldsmith’s. That boy won’t, no use to ask him.”
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
"Not only will we wipe out every potential influence on public biddings – we will also make the process much faster, much more efficient and totally accountable."
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2025
In a 2013 email to dozens of senior staff at Siemens China, the manager, Cao Yong Sheng, pointed to a “huge gap between biddings and contracts,” and asked, “Where’s the gap going?”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2021
Peter reluctantly admitted that Mr. Lukach, when inclined, could use his prowess as a healer for darker biddings.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2017
The biddings rose quickly to 20 guineas; a great sum in former times: but the Duke was not to be daunted or defeated.
From Bibliomania; or Book-Madness A Bibliographical Romance by Thomas Frognall Dibdin
And, therefore, men, following God’s biddings, have of their own free will resorted unto the doctrine of Jesus Christ.
From The Apology of the Church of England by Lady Ann Bacon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
