what is a bid 
the term bid refers to an offer made by an individual or corporation to purchase an asset buyers commonly make bids at auctions and in various markets such as the stock market bids may also be made by companies that compete for project contracts when a buyer makes a bid they stipulate how much they re willing to pay for the asset along with how much they are willing to purchase a bid also refers to the price at which a market maker is willing to buy a security but unlike retail buyers market makers must also display an ask price 