What does "bid" mean?
Acronym of business improvement district.
Bid
/bɪd/ adv, noun, verb, slang
adv, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Acronym of business improvement district.
- Grammar: bid is listed as adv, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: command, tender, adjuration, adjure.
- Useful contrasts: allow, failure, forfeit.
- Usage evidence: When Sony came back with a 2 billion bid, CBS could not refuse.
How to use "bid"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bid" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bid" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bid" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bid" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bid" is acting as adv, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "command" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bid", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Acronym of business improvement district. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 2 An offer at an auction, or to carry out a piece of work.
"His bid was $35,000."
- 3 an attempt to get something wordnet
- 4 A (failed) attempt to receive or intercept a pass.
"Nice bid!"
- 5 (bridge) the number of tricks a bridge player is willing to contract to make wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 An attempt, effort, or pursuit (of a goal).
"Their efforts represented a sincere bid for success."
- 7 a formal proposal to buy at a specified price wordnet
- 8 A particular route that a driver regularly takes from their domicile.
"I can’t stand this new bid I’m on, even if the mileage is better."
- 9 an authoritative direction or instruction to do something wordnet
- 10 A prison sentence. slang
"So we ‘lawyered up’. That’s how they say it in the bucket, son, where I did an eight-hour bid."
Verb
- 1 To issue a command; to tell. transitive
"He bade me come in."
- 2 To make an offer to pay or accept a certain price. intransitive
"Have you ever bid in an auction?"
- 3 ask for or request earnestly wordnet
- 4 To invite; to summon. transitive
"She was bidden to the wedding."
- 5 To offer as a price; to tender. transitive
"She bid £2000 for the Persian carpet."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 ask someone in a friendly way to do something wordnet
- 7 To utter a greeting or salutation. transitive
"Portia: If I could bid the fifth welcome with so good heart as I / can bid the other four farewell, I should be glad of his / approach; […]"
- 8 To make an attempt. intransitive
"He was bidding for the chance to coach his team to victory once again."
- 9 invoke upon wordnet
- 10 To proclaim (a bede, prayer); to pray. obsolete
"All night she spent in bidding of her bedes, / And all the day in doing good and godly deedes."
- 11 To announce (one's goal), before starting play. ambitransitive
- 12 make a serious effort to attain something wordnet
- 13 To take a particular route regularly. intransitive, transitive
"I can’t believe he bid the Syracuse turn; that can be brutal in the winter!"
- 14 propose a payment wordnet
- 15 make a demand, as for a card or a suit or a show of hands wordnet
Adverb
- 1 twice a day, two times per day not-comparable
"It has been repeatedly documented that moving patients from a TID dosing regimen to BID or OD vastly improves compliance, and thus the medicine's effectiveness."
Example
"When Sony came back with a 2 billion bid, CBS could not refuse."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bid"?
Common synonyms include: command, tender, adjuration, adjure, advance, appeal.
How do you use "bid" in a sentence?
When Sony came back with a 2 billion bid, CBS could not refuse.
How do you pronounce "bid"?
Pronounced /bɪd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Latin bis in diē.
Etymology 2
From Middle English bidden, from Old English biddan (“to ask, demand”), from Proto-West Germanic *biddjan, from Proto-Germanic *bidjaną (“to ask”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰedʰ-. Conflated with Old English bēodan (“to offer, announce”) (see Etymology 2 below). Compare West Frisian bidde, Low German bidden, Dutch bidden ("to pray"), German bitten, Danish bede, Norwegian Bokmål be.
Etymology 3
From Middle English beden, from Old English bēodan (“to offer, announce”), from Proto-Germanic *beudaną (“to offer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewdʰ- (“be awake, aware”). Conflated with Old English biddan (“to ask, demand”) (see Etymology 1 above). Compare Low German bieden, beden, Dutch bieden, German bieten, Danish byde, Norwegian Bokmål by. More at bede.