Bid price
Encyclopedia
A bid price is the highest price that a buyer (i.e., bidder) is willing to pay for a good. It is usually referred to simply as the "bid."

In bid and ask
Bid and ask
Price mechanism is an economic term that refers to the buyers and sellers who negotiate prices of goods or services depending on demand and supply. A price mechanism or market-based mechanism refers to a wide variety of ways to match up buyers and sellers through price rationing.An example of a...

, the bid price stands in contrast to the ask price
Ask price
Ask price, also called offer price, offer, asking price, or simply ask, is the price a seller states she or he will accept for a good....

 or "offer", and the difference between the two is called the bid/ask spread.

An unsolicited bid or purchase offer is when a person or company receives a bid even though they are not looking to sell. A bidding war is said to occur when a large number of bids are placed in rapid succession by two or more entities, especially when the price paid is much greater than the ask price, or greater than the first bid in the case of unsolicited bidding.

In the context of stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...

 trading on a stock exchange
Stock exchange
A stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...

, the bid price is the highest price a buyer of a stock is willing to pay for a share of that given stock. The bid price displayed in most quote services is the highest bid price in the market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...

.
The ask or offer price on the other hand is the lowest price a seller of a particular stock is willing to sell a share of that given stock. The ask or offer price displayed is the lowest ask/offer price in the market (Stock market).

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