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Synonyms

bidding

American  
[bid-ing] / ˈbɪd ɪŋ /

noun

  1. command; summons; invitation.

    I went there at his bidding.

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

    The bidding began furiously.

  3. a bid.

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.
bidding British  
/ 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

"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

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."

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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.

Bidding for artworks that have no such safety net will give an even clearer picture of underlying demand.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

Bidding to succeed his former mentor in 1995, Jospin shocked many Socialists by claiming a "right of inventory" over Mitterrand's legacy -- a right to reassess a record that loyalists deemed sacrosanct.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

Bidding will open on the next cycle of Premier League rights in the UK in 2027.

From BBC • Dec. 23, 2025

Bidding for Freddie Freeman’s World Series walk-off grand slam ball that a 10-year-old boy caught didn’t heat up until the final moments, with the auction ending at $1.56 million.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2024

Yesterday, at the Bidding of Capt. Draper, I took Prince to spend his small Sum for Enlistment on a new Shirt and Breeches.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

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.