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bid adieu to someone or something
Cliché to say good-bye to someone or something. (The word adieu is French for good-bye and should not be confused with ado.) Now it's time to bid adieu to all of you gathered here. He silently bid adieu to his favorite hat as the wind carried it down the street.
bid something down
to lower the value of something, such as stock, by offering a lower price for it each time it comes up for sale. We bid the price down and then bought all of it. I could see that the traders were bidding down the price, but I didn't want to take the risk.
bid (something) for something
and bid (something) on somethingto offer an amount of money for something at an auction. I bid a thousand for the painting. I didn't want to bid for it. I wouldn't bid a cent on that rickety old table!
bid something up
to raise the price of something at an auction by offering higher and higher prices; to increase the value of something, such as shares of stock, by offering a higher price for it each time it comes up for sale. Who is bidding the price up on that painting? Someone bid up the price on each piece at auction and then backed off.
bid adieu
Say goodbye, take leave of, as in It's beyond my bedtime, so I bid you all adieu, or I'll be glad to bid adieu to these crutches. French for "goodbye," adieu literally means "to God" and was part of à dieu vous commant, "I commend you to God." Adopted into English in the 1300s, it was first recorded in Chaucer's Troilus and Cressida (c. 1385). Today it is considered quite formal, although it also is used humorously.
bid up
Raise a price by raising one's offer, as in We were hoping to get an Oriental rug cheaply, but the dealer kept bidding us up. This phrase is used in business and commerce, particularly at auctions. [Mid-1800s]
bid on
v.1. To offer some amount of money for something at an auction: I won't bid more than $10 on that sofa. Who would like to bid on this beautiful painting?
2. To respond to some business proposal with a bid: Four companies are bidding on this contract right now.
bid up
v.1. To increase the price of something by offering increasingly high purchase prices for it: The traders bid up the stocks in oil companies. The buyer bid the artist's paintings up much more than she expected that they would be worth.
2. To increase some cost by offering increasingly high purchase prices: There were many potential buyers, and together they bid up the cost of milk to $3 per gallon. The price was low at first, but the buyer bid it up to much more than he could afford.
bid defiance
To refuse to submit; offer resistance to.
bid fair
To appear likely.