What does unbid mean?
Unbid is an adjective meaning not invited, requested, or summoned. It is especially associated with an appearance, contribution, or emotional expression that was not sought or welcomed: an unbid guest, an unbid suggestion, or unbid love. Because the word is literary and somewhat old-fashioned, using it can add a formal or poetic tone to a sentence. It can also have the narrower technical meaning of not bid for or offered at an auction. Unbid is related in form and origin to bid, but its principal modern sense follows the older use of bid meaning to ask, summon, or invite. The related adjective unbidden conveys a similar idea with a more emphatic literary flavor. Unbid is not especially regional, though it appears in both British and American writing. Its usefulness lies in its ability to distinguish something not merely unwanted, but unsolicited and therefore uninvited.
adjectiveNot invited, asked, or summoned; uninvited or unsolicited. In a more specific sense, not bid for or offered at an auction.
- Not invited, asked, or summoned; uninvited or unsolicited.
- Not bid for or offered at an auction.
"Her unbid intervention transformed the discussion."
"Her unbid intervention transformed the discussion."
"The unbid guest arrived after the meal had begun."
Unbid looks like a past-tense verb, but it is an adjective: something unbid was not asked for, requested, or invited.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of unbid
Unbid was formed in English with the prefix un-, meaning not, and bid in the sense of asking, summoning, or inviting. The base bid has Old English ancestry, and related forms such as bide and biding preserve cognate roots even though their modern meanings have diverged. Over time, the compound became especially prominent in literary contexts, where it describes guests, emotions, speeches, and other contributions that arrive without an invitation.
How unbid is actually used
The word is chiefly literary or archaic in modern English and often sounds deliberately formal. Its most familiar use is in phrases such as "unbid guest" and "unbid love"; the auction sense is comparatively technical.
Easily confused with unbid
Both words can mean uninvited, but unbidden is the more explicitly literary and emphatic form, while unbid is also used in the technical sense of not having been bid for at auction.