Investing term

What is Bid?

The highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay.

The bid is the highest price any buyer is currently willing to pay for a security. It sits just below the ask, and the difference is the spread. When you sell with a market order, you generally receive the bid — so on thinly traded securities, a low bid can mean selling for less than the price you saw quoted.

For example

If the bid is $49.90 and the ask is $50.10, selling "at market" gets you $49.90 — the buyer's price, not the round number in the middle.

Bid is taught hands-on in Stage 5 — How Markets Work Globally.

See the lesson →

Related terms

AskThe lowest price a seller is currently willing to accept.Circuit breakerAn automatic trading halt that fires when the broad market falls past a threshold.ExchangeWhere buyers and sellers of the same stock meet to trade.IPOInitial Public Offering — the first time a company sells shares to the public.
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