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:
Ciscomani, bidding for a third term, has won two nail-biters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
Personally identifiable information is supposed to get censored, but the bidding war has generated legal objections from pilots’ and flight attendants’ unions, per bankruptcy newsletter Petition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The tank in your basement is now in a bidding war with a continent.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
A 2,000-year-old sculpture sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $34.3 million, after a bidding war to set a record for a Roman antiquity.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Neighbors who could afford it soon began bidding against each other for the services of available nurses, until there were times when a nurse’s fee would reach four or five dollars a day.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
"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
He was told an auction was going on; so, in he went to see the fun, taking much interest in the biddings.
From Crown and Anchor Under the Pen'ant by John B. Greene
After many and very animated biddings it was eventually knocked down to Mr. Elkins for £165 15s.
From Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's Reign by John Ashton
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
