bidding

[ bid-ing ]
/ ˈbɪd ɪŋ /

noun

command; summons; invitation: I went there at his bidding.
bids collectively, or a period during which bids are made or received: The bidding began furiously.
a bid.

Idioms for bidding

    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.

Origin of bidding

Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; see origin at bid1, -ing1

Definition for bidding (2 of 3)

Origin of bid

1
before 900; Middle English bidden, Old English biddan to beg, ask; cognate with Old Frisian bidda, Old Saxon biddian, Old High German bittan (German bitten), Old Norse bithja, Gothic bidjan; all < Germanic *bid-ja- (< Indo-European *bhidh-) command, akin to Greek peíthein to persuade, inspire with trust, English bide

OTHER WORDS FROM bid

bid·der, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH bid

bidder bitter

Definition for bidding (3 of 3)

bid 2
[ bid ]
/ bɪd /

verb Archaic.

past participle of bide.

Example sentences from the Web for bidding

British Dictionary definitions for bidding (1 of 2)

bidding
/ (ˈbɪdɪŋ) /

noun

an order; command (often in the phrases do or follow the bidding of, at someone's bidding)
an invitation; summons
the act of making bids, as at an auction or in bridge
bridge a group of bids considered collectively, esp those made on a particular deal

British Dictionary definitions for bidding (2 of 2)

bid
/ (bɪd) /

verb bids, bidding, bad, bade, esp for senses 1, 2, 5, 7 bid, bidden or esp for senses 1, 2, 5, 7 bid

noun

See also bid in, bid up

Derived forms of bid

bidder, noun

Word Origin for bid

Old English biddan; related to German bitten