What does bidding mean?
Bidding is a noun describing the act of offering a price for goods, services, or property, most familiarly at auctions, where rival buyers drive up the amount through successive offers. It extends naturally to formal commerce: companies submit bids in competitive tendering processes, and rival interest can spark what newspapers call a 'bidding war'. A second, older sense concerns authority rather than money — to do someone's bidding is to carry out their orders, a phrase that often implies reluctant or slavish obedience. Card players know a third sense: in contract bridge, the bidding is the opening phase in which players state how many tricks they expect to win. The word derives from the ancient Old English verb 'biddan', meaning to ask or entreat, which also gave English the word 'bead' — originally a prayer — since prayers were once counted on strings like modern rosary beads. Whether in the auction room, the boardroom, or on the bridge table, bidding captures the idea of staking a claim through an offer or an instruction.
The action of offering a price for something, especially at an auction or in competitive tendering.
"The bidding closed at noon after three weeks of intense competition."
Commonly modified by adjectives such as 'competitive', 'sealed-bid', or 'hostile' in commercial contexts.
Commands or instructions given by someone in authority; obedience to another's will, chiefly in the phrases 'to do someone's bidding' or 'at someone's bidding'.
"She grew tired of doing her employer's every bidding."
In contract bridge and similar games, the phase of play in which players make calls stating the number of tricks they undertake to win.
"A strong bidding sequence convinced them they could make game."
Very rare and generally avoided; 'bidding' is almost always treated as an uncountable mass noun, so singular constructions are preferred even when referring to multiple offers collectively.
"All biddings were reviewed by the committee before the award was announced."
The word 'bead' originally meant 'a prayer' — because medieval worshippers counted prayers on strings, the little balls came to be named after the verb 'to bid', the same root that gives us today's bidding.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bidding
Bidding comes from the Old English verb 'biddan', meaning to ask, entreat, or pray, which shares a common Germanic root with German 'bitten' (to request) and Gothic 'bidjan'. Its original sense of asking or praying survives distantly in the noun 'bead', which first meant a prayer before it named the small counters used to tally prayers. Over the Middle English period the verb shifted toward its modern meanings of offering a price and issuing a command, and the noun 'bidding' developed from those uses.
Related word forms
How bidding is actually used
The command sense survives mainly in set phrases such as 'do one's bidding' or 'at someone's bidding', which often carry a connotation of servility or unquestioning obedience. The commercial sense is neutral and common in business, legal, and auction contexts. The plural 'biddings' is rare and generally avoided; the word is normally uncountable.
Easily confused with bidding
'Bedding' refers to sheets, blankets, and other materials for a bed, while 'bidding' refers to offering prices or issuing commands.