bide

American  

[bahyd] / baɪd /

verb (used with object)

bided, bode, bided, bid, biding

1. Archaic. to endure; bear.

2. Obsolete. to encounter.

---

verb (used without object)

bided, bode, bided, bid, biding

1. to dwell; abide; wait; remain.

   Synonyms:

   tarry, linger, stay

idioms

1. bide one's time, to wait for a favorable opportunity.

   He wanted to ask for a raise, but bided his time.

bide British  

/ baɪd /

verb

1. archaic (intr) to continue in a certain place or state; stay

2. archaic (intr) to live; dwell

3. archaic (tr) to tolerate; endure

4. to stay a little

5. to abide by

6. to wait patiently for an opportunity

---

Other Word Forms

• bider noun

Etymology

Origin of bide

before 900; Middle English biden, Old English bīdan; cognate with Old Frisian bīdia, Old Saxon bīdan, Old High German bītan, Old Norse bītha, Gothic beidan, Latin fīdere, Greek peíthesthai to trust, rely < Indo-European *bheidh-; the meaning apparently developed: have trust > endure > wait > abide > remain

Explanation

When you bide, you remain somewhere. You'd be wise to bide a while inside and wait for the rain to stop before you leave! The verb bide is extremely old-fashioned, but you may be familiar with it from expressions like "bide your time" and businesses named "Bide-a-Wee." It comes from the Old English bidan, "to stay, continue, or remain." When you bide your time, you wait until a good opportunity comes up: "I'll bide my time until I find the perfect rescue dog." As for "bide-a-wee," that's a Scottish phrase meaning "stay a while."

Example Sentences

Investors may bide their time until there are more concrete details about SpaceX’s financials.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Skaters bide their time in a peloton—before trying to break away from the bunch with a decisive burst.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026

The message to her is that if there isn’t anything good out there to buy, investors should just sit tight and be patient— such as bide time in T-bills.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 19, 2025

They were older than me and in an all-boys team, so I had to bide my time a little bit.

From BBC • Sep. 20, 2025

They had decided earlier that they would bide their time until dusk, when it would be more difficult for guards to track their footsteps in the snow.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

Related Words

• dwell
• sit tight
• stick around