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
Kartal, 24, was bidding to lift the trophy in only her third event since returning from a six-month absence caused by a back injury.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Everyone—literally every kid in attendance, twenty or thirty of them—was gathered around, shouting and bidding on the goods inside.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
"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
His biddings were usually silent, accompanied by the elevation and fall of his cane, or by an abrupt nod of the head.'
From The Book-Hunter in London Historical and Other Studies of Collectors and Collecting by W. (William) Roberts
Quoth she, "Meekly have I done all thy biddings under sun": Toll slowly.
From The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning Volume II by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
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