bɪd v. & n. --v. (bidding;
past bid,
archaic bade; past
part. bid, archaic bidden) 1 tr. & intr. (past
and past part. bid) (often foll. by
for, against) a (esp. at an auction)
offer (a
certain price) (did
not bid for
the vase; bid
against the
dealer; bid ø20). b offer to do
work etc. for a stated
price. 2 tr. archaic or
literary a
command;
order (bid the soldiers shoot). b
invite (bade
her start). 3 tr. archaic or literary a utter (greeting or farewell) to (I bade
him welcome). b
proclaim (defiance etc.). 4 (past and past part. bid) Cards a intr.
state before play how
many tricks
one intends to
make. b tr. state (one's
intended number of tricks). --n. 1 a (esp. at an auction) an offer (of a price) (a bid of ø5). b an offer (to do work, supply goods, etc.) at a stated price; a tender. 2 Cards a
statement of the number of tricks a
player proposes to make. 3 colloq. an
attempt; an
effort (a bid for power). øbid fair to
seem likely to. make a bid for
try to
gain (made a bid for freedom). øøbidder n. [OE biddan
ask f. Gmc, & OE beodan offer, command]
