# bide

> English word · Verb · IPA /baɪd/ · frequency rank #43,526

## Definitions
1. To bear; to endure; to tolerate.
2. To face with resistance; to encounter; to withstand.
3. To dwell or reside in a location; to abide.
4. To wait; to be in expectation; to stay; to remain.
5. To wait for; to await.

## Etymology
From Middle English biden, from Old English bīdan (“to stay, continue, live, remain, delay; wait for, await, expect; endure, experience, find; attain, obtain; own”), from Proto-West Germanic *bīdan (“to wait”), from Proto-Germanic *bīdaną (“to wait”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéydʰeti, from *bʰeydʰ- (“to command, persuade, compel, trust”). Latinate cognates (via PIE) include faith and fidelity.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots bide (“to dwell, to live; to stay”), Alemannic German beite (“to wait”), Cimbrian paiten (“to wait”), Dutch beiden (“to wait”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål bie (“to stay, to wait”), Faroese, Icelandic bíða (“to wait”), Norwegian Nynorsk bide, bie (“to wait”), Swedish bida (“to await, to bide”), Gothic 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (beidan, “to wait”).

## Easily confused with
- **big** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-big)
- **bit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bit)
- **bye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bye)
- **bin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bin)
- **bud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bud)
- **bio** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bio)
- **bis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bis)
- **biz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-biz)
- **bpd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bpd)
- **bod** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bod)
- **Boe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-boe)
- **bim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bim)
- **Bir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bir)
- **BLE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-ble)
- **body** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-body)
- **bill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bill)
- **blue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-blue)
- **bird** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bird)
- **bike** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bike)
- **bone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bide-vs-bone)

## Common misspellings (5)
`bbide`, `bdie`, `bidde`, `bied`, `ibde`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bide