bide

[bahyd]

See more synonyms for bide on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), bid·ed or bode; bid·ed or (Archaic) bid; bid·ing.

Archaic. to endure; bear.
Obsolete. to encounter.

verb (used without object), bid·ed or bode; bid·ed or (Archaic) bid; bid·ing.

to dwell; abide; wait; remain.

Idioms

bide one's time, to wait for a favorable opportunity: He wanted to ask for a raise, but bided his time.

Origin of bide

before 900; Middle English biden, Old English bīdan; cognate with Old Frisian bīdia, Old Saxon bīdan, Old High German bītan, Old Norse bītha, Gothic beidan, Latin fīdere, Greek peíthesthai to trust, rely < Indo-European *bheidh-; the meaning apparently developed: have trust > endure > wait > abide > remain

Related formsbid·er, noun

Synonyms for bide

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3. stay, linger, tarry.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for bide

dwell, reside, await, attend, linger, tarry, live, abide, stay, remain, continue

Examples from the Web for bide

Contemporary Examples of bide

While Democrats bide their time, Republicans are already spending time and building operations in the Hawkeye State.
Too Soon! Republican Presidential Hopefuls Already Swarming Iowa
Ben Jacobs
July 6, 2013
Rather, one would think now would be an ideal moment for a grateful ally to ramp it down and bide their time.
Just Wait Two Years To Free Pollard
Ali Gharib
April 12, 2013
Bide your time with some of the most impressive public displays of Les Miserables love.
Seven Best ‘Les Miserables’ Flash Mobs (VIDEO)
Kevin Fallon
December 7, 2012
If a culture has to be grown, then you have to bide your time while cell division takes its course.
The Best of David Rakoff: Quotes, ‘This American Life,’ ‘The Daily Show,’ & More
August 10, 2012
The bloodthirsty Young Turks of Bohane bide their time, waiting in the shadows to shank and supplant their revelry-addled elders.
Must Reads: Kennedy, Sontag and Paris, ‘A Partial History of Lost Causes,’ ‘City of Bohane,’ ‘Flatscreen’
Lauren Elkin, Mythili Rao, Drew Toal, Nicholas Mancusi
April 6, 2012

Historical Examples of bide

Here I am, and here I bide, while God gives me strength to lift a sword.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
"The danger may bide," said he, shrugging his broad shoulders.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
In sooth, it is bad for those who fall, but worse for those who bide behind.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
If we bide here, who knows that some fresh tumult may not break out.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
Here I must bide, and talk and sew and spin, and spin and sew and talk.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for bide

bide

verb bides, biding, bided, bode or bided

(intr) archaic, or dialect to continue in a certain place or state; stay
(intr) archaic, or dialect to live; dwell
(tr) archaic, or dialect to tolerate; endure
bide a wee Scot to stay a little
bide by Scot to abide by
bide one's time to wait patiently for an opportunity

Often shortened to: (Scot) byde

Word Origin for bide

Old English bīdan; related to Old Norse bītha to wait, Gothic beidan, Old High German bītan

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 bide

Old English bidan "to stay, continue, live, remain," also "to trust, rely" (cognate with Old Norse biða, Old Saxon bidan, Old Frisian bidia, Middle Dutch biden, Old High German bitan, Gothic beidan "to wait"), apparently from PIE *bheidh-, an extended stem of one root of Old English biddan (see bid (v.)), the original sense of which was "to command," and "to trust" (cf. Greek peithein "to persuade," pistis "faith;" Latin fidere "to trust," foedus "compact, treaty," Old Church Slavonic beda "need"). Perhaps the sense evolved in prehistoric times through "endure," and "endure a wait," to "to wait." Preserved in Scotland and northern England, replaced elsewhere by abide in all senses except to bide one's time. Related: Bided; biding.