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bid down

C1 formal separable transitive
In simple words

To make the price of something go down by offering lower and lower amounts in a competition.

Literal meaning: To bid in a direction that is downward (i.e., lower).

Meanings

1 C1 formal

To cause a price to fall by placing bids or offers at progressively lower amounts.

"Competition among suppliers bid the contract price down well below the original estimate."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Used in business, finance, and auction contexts. Often used in the passive: 'prices were bid down'. Opposite of 'bid up'. More common in written financial journalism than in everyday speech.

Commonly used with

price wages cost value contract shares

Forms

Base
bid down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
bids down
he/she/it
Past simple
bided down
yesterday
Past participle
bided down
have + pp
-ing form
biding down
continuous

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