MEANING
To remain waiting, especially for a suitable opportunity.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- bide one’s time
On the page
She bided her time behind the door.
He bided his time until the guards changed.
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- bide
- Past tense
- bided
- Past participle
- bided
- Present participle
- biding
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- bide
- Present continuous
- am/is/are biding
- Present perfect
- have/has bided
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been biding
- Past
- bided
- Past continuous
- was/were biding
- Past perfect
- had bided
- Past perfect continuous
- had been biding
- Future
- will bide
- Future continuous
- will be biding
- Future perfect
- will have bided
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been biding
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: bide; bides; bided; bided; biding Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: bides.
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