bide

verb

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\ ˈbīd

bode\ ˈbōd

\ or bided; bided; biding

Definition of bide

transitive verb

1 past tense usually bided : to wait for —used chiefly in the phrase bide one's time is biding his time before asking for a raise

2 archaic : withstand two men … might bide the winter storm— W. C. Bryant

3 chiefly dialectal : to put up with : tolerate … couldn't bide children on his place …— J. W. Riley

intransitive verb

1 : to continue in a state or condition bide still a moment

2 : to wait awhile : tarry

3 : to continue in a place : sojourn bide in a cabin

Other Words from bide Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About bide

Examples of bide in a Sentence

how long are you going to bide in this unhappy marriage? at my advanced age I simply cannot bide young children

Recent Examples on the Web Disfluencies are involuntary disruptions in the normal flow of speech that can help us bide our time, collect our thoughts or self-correct. — cleveland, 6 Apr. 2022 The first flight of the SpaceX Starship with Super Heavy booster will have to bide its time a little longer. — Richard Tribou, orlandosentinel.com, 25 Mar. 2022 Like several other influential Republicans, McCarthy assesses that the best approach to Trump is to bide time, appease him, and hope his relevance fades away as more pressing issues take center stage. — Andrew C. Mccarthy, National Review, 14 Feb. 2022 Readers are brought face to face with the crushing loss of loved ones, hatred from long-time neighbors, love that must bide its time, and age-old questions about evil. — Sarah Schutte, National Review, 13 Feb. 2022 Not making it on the first ballot isn’t a sign a player is undeserving but a testament to the backlog of tremendous players who, for one reason or another, have had to bide their time. — Brad Biggs, chicagotribune.com, 8 Feb. 2022 The architect of China's opening, Deng Xiaoping, spoke of the need for China to hide its strength and bide its time. — Fareed Zakaria, CNN, 20 Nov. 2021 Who are all these new characters popping up on the show’s Instagram account?— the marketing folks at Yellowstone came up with a brilliant idea to help fans bide their time. — Rebecca Norris, Country Living, 7 Nov. 2021 Speaking of former Heat players, Trevor Ariza continues to bide his time for his Los Angeles Lakers debut. — Ira Winderman, sun-sentinel.com, 4 Dec. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bide.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for bide

Middle English biden "to stay, linger, wait expectantly, hope for, undergo," going back to Old English bīdan, past bād, bidon, past participle biden, going back to Germanic *bīðan- (whence also Old Saxon bīdan "to wait, stand ready, hold out," Old High German bītan "to wait, expect," Old Norse bíða "to wait for, suffer, undergo," Gothic beidan "to wait for, endure"), perhaps going back to Indo-European *b^hei̯d- "entrust, trust" — more at faith entry 1

Note: The argument has been made, most notably by Émile Benveniste (Le vocabulaire des institutions indo-européennes, Paris, 1969, tome 1, pp. 119-20), that in Germanic an older sense "place one's trust in something" developed into "expect with confidence, wait for" and then "undergo, endure"—though this hypothesis has not been universally accepted.