bidder

bidder — noun

1. a person or company that says what price it will pay in order to try to get some

1.nounB2
Definition

a person or company that says what price it will pay in order to try to get something, especially in an auction or similar sale.

Example

At the art sale, the final bidder raised her card to $8,000.

auction action: raise a card

Two online bidders kept increasing the price of the old camera.

online sale context

Common collocations
  • highest bidder
  • winning bidder
  • online bidder
  • successful bidder
  • no bidder
Synonyms
  • buyer

    broader and more common; a buyer often refers to the person who finally gets the item

  • purchaser

    more formal than buyer and usually used after the sale is completed

  • tenderer

    formal and mainly used for business or government contract competition

  • contender

    any competitor; it does not specifically mean someone offering money

Antonyms
  • seller

    the person offering the item for sale rather than trying to buy it

Grammar Patterns

highest bidder

successful bidder

no bidder for + noun

Usage Note

Often used with adjectives such as highest, lowest, successful, and losing. Distinguish from buyer: a bidder has made an offer, but may not actually get the item.

Common Mistakes

The highest buyer won the painting.
The highest bidder won the painting.
use 'bidder' for the person competing with offers before the sale is finished.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Bidder' focuses on the stage before a sale is finished. A bidder has named a price, but may still lose and get nothing. 'Buyer' is the broad everyday word for someone who buys something, and it often suggests the person who actually gets the item. 'Purchaser' is more formal than buyer and is common in legal or business writing after payment or transfer. 'Tenderer' is narrower and mostly used in formal contract competition, where a company submits a price and plan to win work. So a bidder raises a card at an auction, a buyer pays for a sofa, and a tenderer sends papers for a building project.

bidder ↗buyer ↗purchasertenderer

Common collocations

Nouns

  • highest bidder
  • winning bidder
  • online bidder
  • successful bidder

Phrases

  • be the highest bidder
  • become the winning bidder
  • attract bidders

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Bidder was formed in English from the verb 'bid' and the suffix '-er', which is used for a person who does an action. The verb 'bid' is an old English word. In modern use, bidder keeps the price-offering meaning and names the person or group making that offer.