outbade
Definition
Verb (past tense of "outbid"): To have offered a higher price than (someone), especially at an auction. It is the simple past tense form of the verb "outbid," meaning to surpass another person's bid by offering more money.
Usage Examples
- (She offered a higher price than her rival.)
- (He offered more money than all other bidders.)
Advanced Usage
In competitive contexts: "outbade" can also imply outdoing someone in a non-financial sense, such as in promises or claims.
- The politician outbade his opponent by promising more tax cuts. (He made a more generous promise than his opponent.)
In narrative or historical accounts: Used to describe past auction events.
- The collector outbade all others to secure the rare manuscript. (He succeeded in buying the manuscript by offering the highest price.)
Variants and Related Words
Outbid (verb, present tense): To offer a higher price than someone.
- I will outbid you for that painting. (I will offer more money than you.)
Outbidding (verb, present participle): The act of offering higher prices.
- Outbidding can be a risky strategy at auctions. (The practice of raising bids.)
Outbidden (verb, past participle): Having been surpassed in a bid.
- He felt frustrated after being outbidden at the last moment. (Someone else offered a higher price.)
Synonyms
- Overbid: To bid more than the value or more than another person.
- Surpass: To exceed or go beyond in amount or degree.
- Outdo: To perform better than someone else.
Related Idioms
- To raise the stakes: To increase the level of risk or investment in a competition.
- When he outbade everyone, he truly raised the stakes in the auction. (He increased the financial risk.)
Grammar Note
- "Outbade" is an irregular past tense form of "outbid." The more common past tense and past participle form is "outbid" (e.g., ). "Outbade" is an older or less frequent variant, but it is still recognized in formal or literary English.