underbid

verb

un·​der·​bid ˌən-dər-ˈbid How to pronounce underbid (audio)
underbid; underbidding

transitive verb

1
: to bid less than (a competing bidder)
2
: to bid (a hand of cards) at less than the strength of the hand warrants

intransitive verb

: to bid too low
underbidder noun

Examples of underbid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Austal, for its part, was desperate for contracts … observers worried that the yard might have underbid in desperation. Lawrence Specker | Lspecker@al.com, al, 28 July 2023 Neither theory explains the Republican determination to dramatically underbid the Democrats on relief spending three months before an election, nor the emergence of a faction within the Senate Republicans that doesn’t want to spend more money on relief at all. Ross Douthat New York Times, Star Tribune, 4 Aug. 2020 State officials awarded the contract in 2019 despite concerns about Optum’s record after the company underbid the incumbent contractor, Beacon Health Options, by $72.1 million. Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2022 Three separate divisions within that bank underbid each other to have rights to the line of credit. Zenger News, Forbes, 11 June 2021 Documents from the review cite concerns after G4S slashed wages to underbid competitors and then hired untrained guards when others quit. USA Today, 31 Oct. 2019 The primary example concerns a case from the 1970s in which the AIA suspended Aram Mardirosian for seeking a contract that was already awarded to another architect by underbidding him. Diana Budds, Curbed, 5 Aug. 2019 Jeff Eller, spokesman for the Rail Security Alliance, a group of American rail car companies, said CRRC is supported by the government of China and can underbid on contracts with no market consequences, which is unfair to other companies. Mary Wisniewski, chicagotribune.com, 5 Aug. 2019 Working-class Americans aren’t lazy or xenophobic, but they are deeply underbid by immigrants. WSJ, 13 July 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'underbid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1677, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of underbid was circa 1677

Dictionary Entries Near underbid

Cite this Entry

“Underbid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underbid. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

underbid

verb
un·​der·​bid ˌən-dər-ˈbid How to pronounce underbid (audio)
underbid; underbidding
1
: to bid less than a competing bidder
2
: to bid too low (as in cards)
underbidder noun
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