Meaning

(transitive) To issue a command; to tell..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To issue a command; to tell.
2. (transitive) To invite; to summon.
3. (transitive) To utter a greeting or salutation.
4. (obsolete) To proclaim (a bede, prayer); to pray.
5. (intransitive) To make an offer to pay or accept a certain price.
6. (transitive) To offer as a price; to tender.
7. (intransitive) To make an attempt.
8. (ambitransitive, card games) To announce (one's goal), before starting play.

Example Sentences

He bade me come in.

Shylock: [...] Why Jessica, I say! Launcelot: Why, Jessica! Shylock: Who bids thee call? I do not bid thee call. Launcelot: Your worship was wont to tell me that I could do nothing without bidding.

She was bidden to the wedding.

Jessica: Call you? What is your will? Shylock: I am bid forth to supper, Jessica: / [...] But wherefore should I go? / I am not bid for love; they flatter me;

In his cloak of words strode the ringmaster, / Bid me join the parade

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; […]

The last train—a three-coach A.E.C. unit—from Belfast to Crumlin and back, was bade farewell with fog signals as it carried a capacity crowd of last-trip travellers.

All night she spent in bidding of her bedes, / And all the day in doing good and godly deedes.

Word Forms

• bids
• bidding
• bid
• bade
• bad
• bidden

Synonyms for bid

Related Words

When Should You Use Bid?

Use bid when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions