to bid for
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To promise to support in Parliament certain measures, in order to obtain votes.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to bid for” mean?
To promise to support in Parliament certain measures, in order to obtain votes.
Is “to bid for” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.