"bide one's time" meaning in English

See bide one's time in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: en-au-bide one's time.ogg Forms: bides one's time [present, singular, third-person], biding one's time [participle, present], bode one's time [past], bided one's time [past], bidden one's time [participle, past], bided one's time [participle, past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|bide<,,bode,bidden> one's time|past2=bided one's time|past_ptc2=bided one's time}} bide one's time (third-person singular simple present bides one's time, present participle biding one's time, simple past bode one's time or bided one's time, past participle bidden one's time or bided one's time)
  1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To wait, especially for a suitable opportunity. Tags: idiomatic, intransitive Synonyms: cool one's heels, kick one's heels Related terms: cool one's heels, mark time, stall for time, wait and see Translations (to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity): 等待時機 (Chinese Mandarin), 等待时机 (děngdài shíjī) (Chinese Mandarin), 等機會 (Chinese Mandarin), 等机会 (děng jīhuì) (Chinese Mandarin), de kans afwachten (Dutch), odottaa tilaisuuttaan (Finnish), odottaa sopivaa hetkeä (Finnish), attendre son heure (French), den rechten Augenblick abwarten (German), kivárja az idejét (Hungarian), kivárja a megfelelő időt/pillanatot/alkalmat (Hungarian), kivárja az alkalmas pillanatot (Hungarian), 満を持す (man o jisu) (Japanese), 기회를 노리다 (gihoe-reul norida) (Korean), 벼르다 (byeoreuda) (Korean), czekać na właściwą chwilę [imperfective] (Polish), poczekać na właściwą chwilę [perfective] (Polish), ждать своего́ ча́са (ždatʹ svojevó čása) (Russian), выжида́ть своё вре́мя (vyžidátʹ svojó vrémja) (Russian), esperar su tiempo (Spanish), bida sin tid (Swedish), fırsat kollamak (Turkish)

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bides one's time",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "biding one's time",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bode one's time",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bided one's time",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bidden one's time",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bided one's time",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "bide<,,bode,bidden> one's time",
        "past2": "bided one's time",
        "past_ptc2": "bided one's time"
      },
      "expansion": "bide one's time (third-person singular simple present bides one's time, present participle biding one's time, simple past bode one's time or bided one's time, past participle bidden one's time or bided one's time)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English predicates",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Korean translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Turkish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter III, in Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume I (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, pages 66–67:",
          "text": "Ravenswood, who had assumed the disguise of a sewer upon the occasion, answered, in a stern voice, “I bide my time”; and at the same moment a bull’s head, the ancient symbol of death, was placed upon the table.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1965, Lennon–McCartney (lyrics and music), “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”, in Rubber Soul, performed by The Beatles:",
          "text": "I sat on the rug, biding my time / Drinking her wine / We talked until two / And then she said, \"it's time for bed\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999, J. K. Rowling, “The Keeper of the Keys”, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Scholastic, Inc., →ISBN, →OCLC, page 57:",
          "text": "“Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he’s still out there, bidin’ his time, like, but I don’ believe it.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019, Andrew Herman, The “Better Angels” of Capitalism, Routledge, →ISBN:",
          "text": "There are times, Machiavelli concedes, where it might be more advantageous to be cautious and bide one's time in order to ascertain the dispensation of the goddess more clearly.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations: London Bridge”, in RAIL, number 948, page 31:",
          "text": "Above the concourse, the underneath of the platforms has been clad with attractive wood panelling, while the columns holding them up are surrounded with seating - for use by passengers biding their time waiting for their trains, or who have used one of the 70-or-so eateries or shops that form part of the retail developments at the station.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To wait, especially for a suitable opportunity."
      ],
      "id": "en-bide_one's_time-en-verb-f9HDL5iv",
      "links": [
        [
          "wait",
          "wait"
        ],
        [
          "opportunity",
          "opportunity"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic) To wait, especially for a suitable opportunity."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "cool one's heels"
        },
        {
          "word": "mark time"
        },
        {
          "word": "stall for time"
        },
        {
          "word": "wait and see"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "cool one's heels"
        },
        {
          "word": "kick one's heels"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "等待時機"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "děngdài shíjī",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "等待时机"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "等機會"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "děng jīhuì",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "等机会"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "de kans afwachten"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "odottaa tilaisuuttaan"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "odottaa sopivaa hetkeä"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "attendre son heure"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "den rechten Augenblick abwarten"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "kivárja az idejét"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "kivárja a megfelelő időt/pillanatot/alkalmat"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "kivárja az alkalmas pillanatot"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "man o jisu",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "満を持す"
        },
        {
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "gihoe-reul norida",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "기회를 노리다"
        },
        {
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "byeoreuda",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "벼르다"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "czekać na właściwą chwilę"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "poczekać na właściwą chwilę"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "ždatʹ svojevó čása",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "ждать своего́ ча́са"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "vyžidátʹ svojó vrémja",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "выжида́ть своё вре́мя"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "esperar su tiempo"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "bida sin tid"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
          "word": "fırsat kollamak"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-bide one's time.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d4/En-au-bide_one%27s_time.ogg/En-au-bide_one%27s_time.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/En-au-bide_one%27s_time.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bide one's time"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bides one's time",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "biding one's time",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bode one's time",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bided one's time",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bidden one's time",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bided one's time",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "bide<,,bode,bidden> one's time",
        "past2": "bided one's time",
        "past_ptc2": "bided one's time"
      },
      "expansion": "bide one's time (third-person singular simple present bides one's time, present participle biding one's time, simple past bode one's time or bided one's time, past participle bidden one's time or bided one's time)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "cool one's heels"
    },
    {
      "word": "mark time"
    },
    {
      "word": "stall for time"
    },
    {
      "word": "wait and see"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English predicates",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Korean translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations",
        "Terms with Turkish translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter III, in Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume I (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, pages 66–67:",
          "text": "Ravenswood, who had assumed the disguise of a sewer upon the occasion, answered, in a stern voice, “I bide my time”; and at the same moment a bull’s head, the ancient symbol of death, was placed upon the table.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1965, Lennon–McCartney (lyrics and music), “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”, in Rubber Soul, performed by The Beatles:",
          "text": "I sat on the rug, biding my time / Drinking her wine / We talked until two / And then she said, \"it's time for bed\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999, J. K. Rowling, “The Keeper of the Keys”, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Scholastic, Inc., →ISBN, →OCLC, page 57:",
          "text": "“Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he’s still out there, bidin’ his time, like, but I don’ believe it.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019, Andrew Herman, The “Better Angels” of Capitalism, Routledge, →ISBN:",
          "text": "There are times, Machiavelli concedes, where it might be more advantageous to be cautious and bide one's time in order to ascertain the dispensation of the goddess more clearly.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations: London Bridge”, in RAIL, number 948, page 31:",
          "text": "Above the concourse, the underneath of the platforms has been clad with attractive wood panelling, while the columns holding them up are surrounded with seating - for use by passengers biding their time waiting for their trains, or who have used one of the 70-or-so eateries or shops that form part of the retail developments at the station.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To wait, especially for a suitable opportunity."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "wait",
          "wait"
        ],
        [
          "opportunity",
          "opportunity"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic) To wait, especially for a suitable opportunity."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-bide one's time.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d4/En-au-bide_one%27s_time.ogg/En-au-bide_one%27s_time.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/En-au-bide_one%27s_time.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "cool one's heels"
    },
    {
      "word": "kick one's heels"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "等待時機"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "děngdài shíjī",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "等待时机"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "等機會"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "děng jīhuì",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "等机会"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "de kans afwachten"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "odottaa tilaisuuttaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "odottaa sopivaa hetkeä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "attendre son heure"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "den rechten Augenblick abwarten"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "kivárja az idejét"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "kivárja a megfelelő időt/pillanatot/alkalmat"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "kivárja az alkalmas pillanatot"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "man o jisu",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "満を持す"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "gihoe-reul norida",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "기회를 노리다"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "byeoreuda",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "벼르다"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "czekać na właściwą chwilę"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "poczekać na właściwą chwilę"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "ždatʹ svojevó čása",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "ждать своего́ ча́са"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "vyžidátʹ svojó vrémja",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "выжида́ть своё вре́мя"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "esperar su tiempo"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "bida sin tid"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "to wait, especially for a suitable opportunity",
      "word": "fırsat kollamak"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bide one's time"
}

Download raw JSONL data for bide one's time meaning in English (7.4kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-08 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (bb46d54 and 0c3c9f6). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.