bid Hear it!

bid¹ Definition

bid (bid)

transitive verb bade or bid, bid′·den or bid, bid′·ding, bid

  1. Obsolete to beseech or implore
  2. to command, ask, or tell do as you are bidden
  3. to offer (a certain amount) as the price or fee that one will pay or accept
  4. to declare openly to bid defiance
  5. to express in greeting or taking leave bid farewell to your friends
  6. ☆ Informal to offer membership to the fraternity may bid five new men
  7. Now Chiefly Dial. to invite
  8. Card Games to state (the number of tricks or points one proposes to take and, in bridge, whether one proposes to play the hand with a specified suit as trump or with no suit as trump) in an effort to win the right to name trump

Etymology: ME bidden, to ask, plead, pray < OE biddan < IE base *bheidh-, to urge, compel; meaning and form merged with ME beden, to offer, present < OE beodan, to command, decree < IE base *bheudh-, to be alert, announce

intransitive verb

to make a bid

noun

  1. a bidding of an amount
  2. the amount bid
  3. a chance to bid
  4. an attempt or try a bid for fame
  5. ☆ Informal an invitation, esp. to become a member
  6. Card Games
    1. the act of bidding
    2. the number of tricks, suit, etc. stated in a bid
    3. a player's turn to bid

bid¹ Related Forms

bid′·der noun

bid¹ Idioms

bid fair

to seem likely (to be or do something)

bid in

☆

at an auction, to bid more than the best offer on one's own property in order to keep it

bid up

to raise the amount bid

bid² Definition

bid (bid)

intransitive verb

Obsolete bide

bid Synonyms

bid

n.

  1. An offer

    proposal, proposition, declaration, tender; see proposal 1, suggestion 1.

  2. An effort to gain an end

    attempt, try, effort, gambit; see effort 2.

  3. *An invitation

    request, summons, proposal; see invitation 1, 2.

bid Synonyms

bid

v.

  1. To propose a price for purchase

    offer, venture, proffer, tender, bid for, submit a bid, make an offer.

  2. To offer a commitment at cards

    declare, name a trump, bid in, name a suit, open, respond.

  3. To order

    demand, charge, direct, instruct; see command 1.

  4. To invite

    request, ask, solicit; see invite 1, 2.

bid Finance Definition

  1. The purchase price of a stock, futures contract, or other investment. The term is used by market makers and other traders who are prepared to purchase an investment. In contrast, ask is the price of a stock or other investment that a market maker or trader is willing to sell an investment for. See also bid-ask spread.
  2. In the context of a merger agreement or attempted merger, bid indicates a proposed price.

bid Law Definition

n

An offer to pay a specific price for something.

n

An offer to perform work or supply services at a specific price.

v

The act of submitting an offer to buy.
firm bid
A bid that is publicly announced when made and that is binding and cannot be revised until it is accepted or rejected.
open bid
A bid that is publicly announced when made and that the bidder may repeatedly revise as competing bids are announced.
sealed bid
A written bid that is secret and not disclosed until all submitted bids (which are also written and secret) are simultaneously opened and considered.

bid Usage Examples

Object

  • farewell: We bid farewell to the White Cliffs on our short sea crossing to Calais in France.
  • adieu: With that most important question settled, it was time to bid adieu.

Converse of object

  • submit: Now over 70 projects have been asked to submit full bids.
  • invite: You may think you can outsmart the management team by inviting competitive bids from trade buyers.
  • reject: Mr Rose has been widely seen as the only man able to persuade shareholders to reject the bid from Mr Green.

Preposition: for

funding: We have also bid for the funding of induction mentors to support a cluster of primary schools.

Adjective modifier

  • Olympic: Linford Christie sporting the now legendary Puma contact lenses prior to his Olympic bid - the ultimate in cool sportswear items.
  • successful: Mr Hudson led the Council's successful bid to obtain Unitary status.
  • desperate: People with OCD carry out these types of compulsion in a desperate bid to calm the anxiety caused by their obsessions.
  • hostile: Had current events not intruded maybe Lotus ' fate would have been different, but in June 1995 IBM launched a hostile takeover bid.
  • sealed: Following on-site inspections, sales will proceed by sealed bid.
  • winning: We will also endeavor to make available any site surveys, obtain outline planning consent and make it available to the winning bid.

Modifies a noun

farewell: The Atari column bid farewell to TOS in the November 2000 issue of Computer Shopper.

Adjective complement

good-bye: After sympathizing with her and asking whether he could be of any service, he held out his hand to bid good-bye.

Noun used with modifier

  • takeover: By this time the shares were 3p, thanks only to a takeover bid.
  • take-over: It is Britain's most abundant fern and started its take-over bid as early settlers slashed and burned clearings in woodland across Britain.
  • lottery: I then spend time with Marie talking about a lottery bid I am making and she has agreed to help me with.
  • summit: Later, on Cotopaxi, just Jude and Craig opted to go to the hut, for the final summit bid.
  • funding: The budgetary process results in funding bids being assessed against priorities, with many not being accepted.
  • re-election: Most presidential re-election bids become a referendum on the incumbent's performance in the Oval Office.