biddable

1 of 2

adjective

bid·​da·​ble ˈbi-də-bəl 

1

: easily led, taught, or controlled : docile

2

: capable of being bid

biddability

ˌbi-də-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

biddably

ˈbi-də-blē 

adverb

biddability

2 of 2

noun

bid·​da·​bil·​i·​ty ˌbi-də-ˈbi-lə-tē 

: the state or quality of being biddable : docility

Did you know?

A biddable individual is someone you can issue an order to—that is, someone who will do your bidding. The word dates to the late 18th century, and currently our earliest evidence for it is a quote in the Scottish National Dictionary. There are a number of words in English that do what biddable does. Tractable, amenable, and docile are three of them. Biddable is often applied to children and indicates a ready, constant inclination to follow orders, requests, and suggestions. Tractable suggests characteristics that make for easy guiding, leading, ordering, or managing; its antonym intractable (as in "intractable problems") is more common. Amenable indicates a disposition to be agreeable or complaisant as well as a lack of assertive independence. Docile can stress a disposition to submit, either due to guidance and control or to imposition and oppression.

Synonyms of biddable

Adjective

• obedient

Examples of biddable in a Sentence

Adjective

The children became less biddable as they grew older.

the elderly widower was one of the more biddable and cooperative residents at the nursing home

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Advertisers can use biddable automation to buy ads in real-time against live programming, which is especially critical for live sports. —Sara Fischer, Axios, 8 Apr. 2025

Disney is boosting its advertising capabilities for live events, with third-party partnerships, a new certification program for live sports and entertainment as well as biddable deals for live sports. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2025

The technical review is meant to evaluate the structure’s design to ensure that a project is biddable, buildable, cost-effective and maintainable. —Sherry Greenfield, Baltimore Sun, 6 Dec. 2024

Ferro says advertisers have expanded access to programmatic biddable inventory across 30 different demand-side platforms that give access to both national and local-market advertisers. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 7 Dec. 2023

Ferro says that as of this week, biddable programmatic inventory is live on the platform, and that the company has expanded its targeting capabilities to include demos (like age and gender) but also geography and Disney Select Audience Segments. —Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1768, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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