bidding

American  

[bid-ing] / ˈbɪd ɪŋ /

noun

1. command; summons; invitation.

   I went there at his bidding.

2. bids bid collectively, or a period during which bids bid are made or received.

   The bidding began furiously.

3. a bid. bide.

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idioms

1. do someone's bidding, to submit to someone's orders; perform services for someone.

   After he was promoted to vice president at the bank, he expected everyone around him to do his bidding.

bidding British  

/ ˈbɪdɪŋ /

noun

1. an order; command (often in the phrases do or follow the bidding of , at someone's bidding )

2. an invitation; summons

3. the act of making bids, as at an auction or in bridge

4. bridge a group of bids considered collectively, esp those made on a particular deal

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Etymology

Origin of bidding

Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; bid ¹, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

The prices were the result of a required competitive bidding process.

From The Wall Street Journal

Netflix is set to come out of the bidding war $2.8 billion richer because of the termination fee it’s owed by Warner and Paramount.

From Barron's

Dow Chemical flirted with ruin because it won a bidding war for a competitor in 2008 but was left billions short at closing time when a Kuwaiti state company backed out of a joint venture.

From The Wall Street Journal

Before his senior year, he could become the centerpiece of a feverish bidding war between blue blood programs.

From The Wall Street Journal

If that flow stops, Turkey could need to replace it by buying more gas from Russia or bidding for cargoes of liquefied-natural gas.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• auction
• tender