Bids

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /bɪdz/

Definitions

1. A competitive proposal or offer to acquire goods or services is often made within a formal setting
2. It involves the act of suggesting a price or undertaking for a project in order to secure approval
3. Proposes an amount to purchase or secure something ; expresses a hope or desire for something to happen

Etymology: The noun "bids" is simply the plural of "bid," so the story belongs to the verb, which in fact has two Old English ancestors that merged. One was "biddan," meaning "to ask" or "to demand," a word related to modern German "bitten" and Dutch "bidden," which is why the English verb once carried a sense of praying and petitioning. The other was "bēodan," meaning "to offer" or "to announce," which is the source of the "offer" sense that now dominates. Over the centuries the two verbs were confused with one another, and their meanings blended. That blend explains the modern noun. A bid is an offer, most often of money at an auction or in a contract, and it grew out of the old "offer, announce" sense rather than the "ask" or "pray" one. The pleading sense of the older verb survives mainly in the related German and Dutch words, while English kept the offering sense as its everyday meaning.

Synonyms: offers, proposals