General
bid
What does bid mean?
The stretch of time someone's serving. A short bid is a couple of years, a long bid is a decade-plus. Used the way civilians use 'sentence' but with a shrug built in.
"He's doing a five-year bid upstate."
Origin
American prison vernacular, well established by the mid-20th century; widely amplified by hip-hop from the 90s onward.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'bid' mean in prison slang?
A bid is a prison sentence — the time you're doing behind bars.
How do you use 'bid' in a sentence?
For example, 'He did a five-year bid before he got out.'
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