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."
separable
bid down
C1 formal separable transitive
To cause a price or value to fall by offering competing bids that are progressively lower.
In plain English
To make the price of something go down by offering lower and lower amounts in a competition.
What does "bid down" mean?
One main meaning — here's how to use it.
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To bid in a direction that is downward (i.e., lower).
Actually means
To make the price of something go down by offering lower and lower amounts in a competition.
Usage tip
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.
Words that pair with "bid down"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
price wages cost value contract shares
How to conjugate "bid down"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
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
Hear "bid down" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "bid down" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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