bide time


bide (one's) time

To delay some action until an ideal moment or situation reveals itself. I'm just biding my time in an office job until a tenure-track position opens up at one of the local colleges.See also: bide, time

bide one's time

to wait patiently. I've been biding my time for years, just waiting for a chance like this. He's not the type just to sit there and bide his time. He wants some action now.See also: bide, time

bide (one's) time

To wait for further developments.See also: bide, time

bide one's time, to

To wait for the right moment to speak or take action. The verb to bide, meaning “to wait for” since about the year 950, survives today only in this cliché. Frederick W. Robertson used the expression in a sermon (1853): “They bide their time and suddenly represent themselves.”See also: bide