Meaning & use
winning bid
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Meanings
nouncountable
The offer that is accepted in an auction or competitive tender, often the highest price or best proposal.
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'the' or 'a'.
Patterns
- the winning bid for something
- submit a winning bid
- make a winning bid
The winning bid for the painting was $2 million.
After a tense auction, her winning bid secured the rare book.
The company submitted a winning bid for the construction project.
nouncountablebusiness
A bid that is successful in winning a contract or deal.
Grammar: Often used in business contexts.
Patterns
- winning bid for a contract
- announce the winning bid
The winning bid for the contract came from a small local firm.
They celebrated when their bid was announced as the winning bid.
Word forms
| plural | winning bids |
|---|
Common combinations
- highest winning bid
- The highest winning bid was placed by a phone bidder.
- submit a winning bid
- To win the contract, you must submit a winning bid.
- the winning bid for
- The winning bid for the property exceeded expectations.
- place a winning bid
- He placed a winning bid on the antique vase.
Synonyms and how they differ
- successful bid
- Similar meaning, but 'winning bid' is more common in auctions and competitive tenders.
- top bid
- Focuses on being the highest offer, while 'winning bid' focuses on being accepted.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: winning bid or bidding?
winning bid vs bidding
Bidding is the process of making offers; a winning bid is the specific successful offer.
Practice
Complete the sentence: 'The auctioneer announced the ___ for the antique car.'
Choose one answer.
The singular 'winning bid' is correct because the auctioneer announces one successful offer. 'Winning bids' would be plural and does not fit the context of a single car.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “winning bid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.