Meaning & use
opening bid
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Meanings
nouncountable
the first price that someone offers for something, especially at an auction or in a business deal
Grammar: Countable: an opening bid, the opening bid, opening bids.
Patterns
- make an opening bid
- an opening bid of $100
- the opening bid for something
The painting had an opening bid of five thousand dollars.
She made an opening bid of two million for the company.
No one topped the opening bid, so the house was sold immediately.
nouncountabletechnical
in card games such as bridge, the first bid made by a player
Grammar: Used in card-game contexts: your opening bid, a strong opening bid.
Patterns
- make an opening bid
- a strong opening bid
His opening bid was one heart.
She studied her cards carefully before deciding on an opening bid.
Word forms
| plural | opening bids |
|---|
Common combinations
- make an opening bid
- The dealer invited everyone to make an opening bid.
- accept an opening bid
- The seller refused to accept the opening bid.
- high opening bid
- A high opening bid can scare away other buyers.
- opening bid of
- The auction started with an opening bid of fifty pounds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- starting bid
- Starting bid is common on websites like eBay and means the same, but it is more informal.
- initial offer
- Initial offer is used in business talks and can refer to any first offer, not only at auctions.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: opening bid or opening offer?
opening bid vs opening offer
'Opening offer' is used in negotiations for jobs or contracts, while 'opening bid' is more common at auctions and in card games.
Practice
At the auction, the ___ bid for the antique vase was only twenty pounds.
Choose one answer.
'Opening bid' is the fixed noun phrase for the first offer. 'Open bid' is not a standard phrase, and 'opened' or 'opens' would need a different sentence structure.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “opening bid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.