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:
Liverpool then moved on to other targets, and PSG have now opted against entering a bidding war with Real.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The company could get aggressive at these auctions by not only collecting spectrum as a potential bargaining chip, but also by bidding up prices and raising the cost of business for its rivals, Zhu noted.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
To the shock of many staffers and lawmakers, they proposed at least a dozen grants that would bypass the normal open bidding process.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
For this reason, most auctions’ qualified bidders are investors who assess homes, as best they can, from the street or yard before bidding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
On my politely bidding him Good-morning, he said, pompously, “Seven times nine, boy?”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
"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
To the uninitiated the biddings here are as unintelligible as elsewhere, sounding to ordinary ears like the gibberish of Victor Hugo’s Compachinos.
From Lights and Shadows of New York Life or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City by McCabe, James Dabney
And this lesson has to be learned by those outside the Cloister too, if they would follow Mary in being always ready to answer God's calls and do His biddings.
From Mater Christi Meditations on Our Lady by Paul, Mother St.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
