Definition of “bid” - English Dictionary

English
Contents

“bid” in English

See all translations

bidverb

uk ​ /bɪd/ us ​ /bɪd/

bid verb (OFFER)

C2 [ I or T ] present participle bidding, past tense bid, past participle bid to offer a particular amount of money for something that is for sale and compete against other people to buy it, especially at a public sale of goods or property:

She knew she couldn't afford it, so she didn't bid.
The communications group has shown an interest in bidding for the company.
A foreign collector has bid $500,000 for the portrait.
[ + two objects ] What am I bid for this fine vase?

› [ I ] present participle bidding, past tense bid, past participle bid If two or more people bid for a job, they compete with each other to do the work by offering to do it for a particular amount of money:

The department is trying to ensure fairer competition among firms bidding for city contracts.

› [ T + to infinitive ] present participle bidding, past tense bid, past participle bid If someone bids to do something, they compete with other people to do it:

Paris is bidding to host the next Olympics.

› [ I or T ] present participle bidding, past tense bid, past participle bid (in some card games) to say, before play starts, how many points you expect to win in a particular game:

Before you decide how to bid, you need to evaluate how strong the hand of cards you are holding is.
She bid three diamonds.

More examples

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

bid verb (TELL)

› [ T ] present participle bidding, past tense bid or bade, past participle bidden old-fashioned to give a greeting to someone, or to ask someone to do something:

[ + two objects ] They bade her good morning.
I must now bid you farewell (= say goodbye to you).
literary She bade her hopes farewell (= she stopped being hopeful).
[ + object + (to) infinitive ] He bade (= asked) them (to) leave at once.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

bidnoun [ C ]

uk ​ /bɪd/ us ​ /bɪd/

bid noun [ C ] (OFFER)

C2 an offer of a particular amount of money for something that is for sale:

I made a bid of $150 for the painting.
She made/put in a bid of £69,000 for the flat, which was accepted.

C1 an offer to do something when you are competing with other people to do it:

[ + to infinitive ] Sydney made a successful bid to host the Olympic Games.
I gave the job to the contractors who made/gave the lowest bid (= who offered to do the work for the lowest amount of money).

› (in some card games) a statement, made before play starts, of how many points a player thinks he or she will get in a particular game :

The declarer must make as many tricks as his bid has promised.

More examples

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

(Definition of “bid” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“bid” in American English

See all translations

bidverb

us ​ /bɪd/

bid verb (OFFER)

› [ I/T ] present participle bidding, past tense and past participle bid to offer a particular amount of money for something when competing against other people to buy it:

[ T ] A collector bid $500,000 for the portrait.

› [ I/T ] present participle bidding, past tense and past participle bid People who bid for/on a job offer to do it for a particular amount of money.

› [ I/T ] present participle bidding, past tense and past participle bid Someone who bids to do something competes with others to do it:

[ I ] Paris is bidding to host the next Olympics.

bid verb (TELL)

› [ T ] present participle bidding, past tense bid or bade /bæd, beɪd/ , past participle bidden /ˈbɪd·ən/ bid to give a greeting to someone, or to ask someone to do something:

He bade us farewell.

bidnoun [ C ]

us ​ /bɪd/

bid noun [ C ] (OFFER)

› an offer of a particular amount of money for something that is for sale:

The minimum bid for these dolls is $75.

› A bid is also an offer to do a job for a particular price:

His bid to build the garage was too high.

› A bid for something is an attempt to achieve or obtain it:

Her bid for reelection was unsuccessful.

(Definition of “bid” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“bid” in Business English

See all translations

bidverb

uk ​ /bɪd/ us ​ past tense and past participle bid

› [ I or T ] COMMERCE, FINANCE to compete to buy something by offering a particular amount of money for it:

We have a keen interest in the property, although we have not made any definite decision to bid.
bid for sth Potential buyers must register and bid for items online before the cutoff dates.
bid sth for sth The previously unknown company bid $9.3 billion for the oil fields.

› [ I ] to compete for work by offering to do it for a particular price:

bid for sth Taylor-Stanley yesterday confirmed it had bid for the contract.
bid on sth Follow these steps to bid successfully on a government contract.

› [ I ] to compete to be chosen to do something:

The city is bidding to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

Phrasal verb(s)

bid sth up

bidnoun [ C ]

uk ​ /bɪd/ us ​

› COMMERCE, FINANCE an offer to buy something for a particular price:

a bid of £50m
make a bid for sth It is believed the team are ready to make a bid for the player.
a failed/successful bid

› an offer to do work for a particular price:

invite bids for sth/to do sth The state government is inviting bids to carry out maintenance work on all the state highways.
make/put in/submit a bid for/on sth It was the second time they had submitted a bid for the contract.

› an attempt to achieve or get something:

bid for sth He lost his bid for re-election to the board.
The government has reduced the cost of borrowing in a bid to get the economy moving again.
See also
agreed bid
cabinet bid
cash bid
closed bid
conditional bid
counter-bid
friendly bid
hostile bid
open bid
opposed bid
paper bid
sealed bid
takeover bid
unconditional bid

(Definition of “bid” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Help us add to the Cambridge Dictionary!

These examples are from external sources. Click on the icon to tell us if any are not OK.

bid

I bid you all a warm welcome.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
In a bid to safeguard industrial peace in urban areas, the price of the food package has been kept artificially low for dozens of years now.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
The ground for this is that it is not for governments, supervisory authorities or incumbent management to accept or frustrate a bid.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
I bid you a warm welcome!
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
We consider the recommendations that are issued to the euro group in a bid to improve the procedures another important element in this report.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
The fact is that patent law gives absolute privileges to the firm which makes the highest bid, without taking proper account of the social consequences of this.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
If the directive goes through, the board of a bidding or offeree company will have to declare its hand at the time of the bid.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Special police units, dirty tricks and deception, quasi-legal procedures which he is using in a bid to hush up the fact that the people are sick and tired of him.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Over the last six months, intensive discussions have been held between the three institutions in a bid to achieve agreement at the first reading of this subject.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
With this in mind he recommends a sufficient level of minimum guarantee pensions and increasing the employment level among women in a bid to promote equal opportunities.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Translations of “bid”
 
Need a translator?

Translator tool

Get a quick, free translation!

What is the pronunciation of bid?
Browse