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:
British Airways parent IAG and Spain's Iberia had also considered bidding to add TAP's network to their own operations, before abandoning the contest.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Seagate Technology fell more than 9%, following a report that it was facing the prospect of a bidding contest to acquire a component maker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Netflix intially had a deal to buy part of Warner Bros Discovery, but Paramount Skydance launched a bidding war, leading to the streaming giant walking away.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Filmmaker Tyler Perry is bidding farewell to his Beverly Hills mansion, listing the property for $57 million—mere weeks after revealing his plans to move to Puerto Rico.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
She looked back once, as though bidding Oak Hill Manor farewell forever.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
"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
This field of prowess has, it is said, undergone a prejudicial change in these days, the biddings being nearly all by dealers, while gentlemen-collectors are gradually moving out of the field.
From The Book-Hunter A New Edition, with a Memoir of the Author by John Hill Burton
And I promised to my special friends, that if I might, I would gladly do their biddings, as I might.
From Fifteenth Century Prose and Verse by Various
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