bide

[bahyd]

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

3. stay, linger, tarry.

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

Related Words for biding

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

Examples from the Web for biding

Contemporary Examples of biding

Adele In 2013 Sediuk crashed the Grammy's, stealing Adam Levine's seat and biding his time.
An Analysis of Vitalii Sediuk’s Pranks (He’s the Guy Who Touched Brad Pitt)
Amy Zimmerman
May 29, 2014
But know that the Kremlin is biding its time for fuller revenge.
How the Pussy Riot Girls Trial Fell Apart
Alisa Obraztsova
May 8, 2013
He had been biding his time until the situation in the city calmed down in order to make his way back to Sudan.
Libya's Hysteria Over African Mercenaries
Babak Dehghanpisheh
March 6, 2011
Chandler is biding his time as he waits to see what other projects come up.
Will Friday Night Lights Finally Win?
Jace Lacob
August 25, 2010
Apparently, Van der Sloot has been biding his time in a Lima jail cell, poring over love letters from a flood of women.
Women Who Love Murderers
Barbie Latza Nadeau
June 23, 2010

Historical Examples of biding

We have been open, honourable enemies, and have always said we were biding our time.
Ireland as It Is
Robert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)
Her ears moved back and forth as she stood there biding some word from him.
When the West Was Young
Frederick R. Bechdolt
She felt that Haig was playing with Huntington, and biding his time.
The Heart of Thunder Mountain
Edfrid A. Bingham
Indifferent in appearance to what was going on, he was biding his time.
Victory
Joseph Conrad
Winters evidently suspected nothing, and was biding his time.
Three People
Pansy

British Dictionary definitions for biding

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 biding

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.