bidding

bidding — noun

1. when several people or companies each say what price they are willing to pay for

1.nounB2
Definition

when several people or companies each say what price they are willing to pay for an item, and the seller chooses the offer they like best, usually the highest one

Example

The bidding for the old painting started at two thousand dollars and quickly rose to over ten thousand.

collocation: bidding for [item]

Several construction companies took part in the bidding to build the new hospital.

collocation: take part in the bidding

Common collocations
  • competitive bidding
  • sealed bidding
  • bidding process
  • bidding war
  • bidding for
  • bidding on
  • open bidding
  • take part in the bidding
Synonyms
  • auction

    the event itself, not the act of offering prices

  • tender

    used especially in business and government contracts, more formal than bidding

  • offer

    a single price amount, not the whole competitive process

Usage Note

Bidding in this sense is uncountable; you cannot say 'a bidding'. To refer to one specific instance, use 'a bid' instead — for example, 'She made a bid of £200.'

Common Mistakes

We won the bidding after a long fight.
We won the contract after a long bidding process.
'bidding' alone does not mean 'competition'; use 'bidding process' or specify what was won.
There were many biddings for the painting.
There were many bids for the painting.
'bidding' is uncountable; use 'bids' for individual offers.

2. the moment when the first price is offered in a public auction, or the act of in

2.nounB2
Definition

the moment when the first price is offered in a public auction, or the act of inviting people to begin offering prices for an item being sold

Example

The auctioneer asked the crowd to open the bidding on a large antique wardrobe.

phrase: open the bidding

With a small nod from the seller, the auctioneer declared the bidding open.

phrase: declare the bidding open

Common collocations
  • open the bidding
  • declare the bidding open
  • the bidding opens
Synonyms
  • opening bid

    the first price amount offered, whereas 'bidding' here refers to the moment of starting

Usage Note

This sense is used mainly in fixed phrases like 'open the bidding', 'the bidding is open', or 'the bidding opened at [amount]'. It focuses on the starting point of the sale rather than the competitive offers that follow.

3. in card games such as bridge, the part of the game that happens before cards are

3.nounB2
Definition

in card games such as bridge, the part of the game that happens before cards are played, when each player announces how many tricks or points their side aims to win

Example

Kenji and Niran lost several points because their bidding was not clear during the bridge tournament.

domain: bridge card game

In the club's weekly game, the bidding took almost as long as the play itself.

Common collocations
  • bidding system
  • bidding convention
  • bidding in bridge
  • the bidding ends
  • during the bidding
Synonyms
  • auction (in bridge)

    a term used interchangeably with 'bidding' in bridge, especially in the UK

  • contract

    the final bid that sets the goal for the declaring side

Usage Note

Bidding in card games has its own vocabulary: a 'bid' is a player's announcement, a 'bidding convention' is an agreed system of bids, and 'the bidding' refers to the whole pre-play exchange. This sense is most common in bridge, but also applies to games like hearts and spades.

Common Mistakes

The bidding phase in bridge starts after the cards are played.
The bidding phase in bridge starts before the cards are played.
bidding happens BEFORE play, not after.
In bridge, the bidding said the number of tricks.
In bridge, the bidding says the number of tricks a player expects to win.
a person does the bidding, not 'the bidding' itself.

4. doing what someone has ordered or requested you to do, especially when you feel

4.nounC1
Definition

doing what someone has ordered or requested you to do, especially when you feel you must obey — always used in the fixed phrase 'at someone's bidding'

Example

The young assistant travelled to Paris at her boss's bidding, even though she had family plans that weekend.

fixed phrase: at [possessive] bidding

The soldiers acted at the general's bidding without questioning the orders.

formal register

Common collocations
  • at someone's bidding
  • at [name]'s bidding
  • at the bidding of
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

at [possessive] bidding

Usage Note

This sense NEVER appears without the phrase 'at someone's bidding'. It is not a standalone noun. The possessive can be a name ('at Wei's bidding'), a noun ('at the director's bidding'), or a pronoun ('at her bidding'). The tone is often formal or literary, implying that the person being ordered has little choice.

Common Mistakes

He did her bidding without question.
He acted at her bidding without question.
the phrase requires 'at' before the possessive; 'do someone's bidding' is non-standard.
She spoke at the bidding of the manager.
She spoke at the manager's bidding.
the possessive form ('manager's') is much more natural than 'of the manager'.

Word family

  • bid
    verbB1
  • bid
    nounB2
  • bidder
    nounB2
  • outbid
    verbC1
  • rebid
    verbC1
  • overbid
    verbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words relate to stating a price for something, but they differ in scope and setting. A bid is a single offer — one person's stated price for an item. Auction refers to the entire event where items are sold to the person who offers the most money, and it can include many bids. Tender is used in formal business and government contexts: companies submit sealed tenders for contracts, and the buyer chooses the best one. Offer is the broadest word, covering any proposal to pay a certain amount, whether in a shop, at an auction, or in private negotiations. For example, 'Vinícius made a bid of £50 for the chair at the auction' focuses on his single offer, while 'the tender for the bridge project closed on Friday' describes a formal, sealed-bid process.

bid ↗auction ↗tender ↗offer ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bidding process
  • bidding war
  • bidding system

Phrases

  • sealed bidding
  • competitive bidding
  • open bidding
  • at someone's bidding

Prepositions

  • bidding for
  • bidding on

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'bidding' comes from the Old English verb 'bēodan', which meant 'to offer, command, or announce'. This developed into Middle English 'bede' (to offer a price) and later 'bid'. The noun 'bidding' has carried both the 'price offer' sense (from the early days of auctions in England) and the 'command' sense (from the earlier meaning 'to proclaim or command') since the 13th century.