buy

[ bahy ]

verb (used with object)

, bought, buy·ing.

1. to acquire the possession of, or the right to, by paying or promising to pay an equivalent, especially in money; purchase.

   Antonyms: sell

2. to acquire by exchange or concession:

   to buy favor with flattery.

3. to hire or obtain the services of:

   The Yankees bought a new center fielder.

4. to bribe:

   Most public officials cannot be bought.

5. to be the monetary or purchasing equivalent of:

   Ten dollars buys less than it used to.

6. Chiefly Theology. to redeem; ransom.
7. Cards. to draw or be dealt (a card):

   He bought an ace.

8. Informal.
   1. to accept or believe:

      I don't buy that explanation.

   2. to be deceived by:

      He bought the whole story.

verb (used without object)

, bought, buy·ing.

1. to be or become a purchaser.

noun

1. an act or instance of buying.
2. something bought or to be bought; purchase:

   That coat was a sensible buy.

3. a bargain:

   The couch was a real buy.

verb phrase

1. to purchase a share, interest, or membership in:

   They tried to buy into the club but were not accepted.

2. to lower or reduce (the mortgage interest rate) by means of a buy-down.
3. to secure all of (an owner or partner's) share or interest in an enterprise:

   She bought out an established pharmacist and is doing very well.

4. Also buy into.
   1. to buy a supply of; accumulate a stock of.
   2. to buy back one's own possession at an auction.
   3. to undertake a buy-in.
5. to get rid of (a claim, opposition, etc.) by payment; purchase the noninterference of; bribe:

   The corrupt official bought off those who might expose him.

6. to buy as much as one can of something or as much as is offered for sale:

   He bought up the last of the strawberries at the fruit market.

buy

/ baɪ /

verb

1. to acquire by paying or promising to pay a sum of money or the equivalent; purchase
2. to be capable of purchasing

   money can't buy love

3. to acquire by any exchange or sacrifice

   to buy time by equivocation

4. intr to act as a buyer
5. to bribe or corrupt; hire by or as by bribery
6. slang.
   to accept as true, practical, etc
7. intrfoll byinto to purchase shares of (a company)

   we bought into General Motors

8. tr theol (esp of Christ) to ransom or redeem (a Christian or the soul of a Christian)
9. have bought it slang.
   to be killed

noun

1. a purchase (often in the phrases good or bad buy )

Usage

The use of off after buy as in I bought this off my neighbour was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable in informal contexts

Other Words From

• buya·ble adjective
• non·buying adjective noun
• pre·buy verb (used with object) prebought prebuying
• re·buy verb rebought rebuying
• un·buya·ble adjective
• un·buying adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of buy¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English byen, variant of byggen, buggen, Old English bycgan; cognate with Old Saxon buggjan, Gothic bugjan “to buy,” Old Norse byggja “to lend, rent”

Word History and Origins

Origin of buy¹

Old English bycgan ; related to Old Norse byggja to let out, lend, Gothic bugjan to buy

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. buy it, Slang. to get killed:

   He bought it at Dunkirk.

Synonym Study

Buy, purchase imply obtaining or acquiring property or goods for a price. Buy is the common and informal word, applying to any such transaction: to buy a house, vegetables at the market. Purchase is more formal and may connote buying on a larger scale, in a finer store, and the like: to purchase a year's supplies.

Example Sentences

The craft of buying campaigns is going offshore as the platforms continue to automate the process around ad buys.

From Digiday

Last month Goldman Sachs had listed its stock as a good buy, in the expectation that the company will rebound this year and catch up with the other oil majors that had been faring better on the market.

From Washington Post

Second, terms mentioning keywords such as “price” or “discount” are strong signals of buy intent, you should bundle them together.

From Search Engine Watch

A lot of these, you know, so-called meme stocks were, you know, going viral on social media, and people were people are joining Robinhood and there was a lot of net buy activity on them.

From TechCrunch

Her campaign paid $656,000 for advertising, polling, media buys and other services to a company called Neighborhood Research and Media, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

From Washington Post

Why would “they” want to crush him just for attempting to buy something twenty years ago?

From The Daily Beast

“This is the only place in the souk you can buy safety pins,” he said.

From The Daily Beast

“For conveniences and shops where you can buy what you need,” it is much easier, he said.

From The Daily Beast

For instance, Best Buy has over 40 million members in its customer loyalty program, Reward Zone.

From The Daily Beast

Best Buy is caught up in the breakneck world of technological innovation.

From The Daily Beast

If Mac had been alone he would have made the post by sundown, for the Mounted Police rode picked horses, the best money could buy.

From Project Gutenberg

"Buy something for your wife that-is-to-be," he said to his grand-nephew, as he handed him the folded paper.

From Project Gutenberg

Alessandro had hard work to give civil answers to the men who wished to buy Benito and the wagon for quarter of their value.

From Project Gutenberg

It is very old, they say, and worth a great deal of money, if you could find the right man to buy it.

From Project Gutenberg

For us to take her place it became necessary for us to loan before we could sell and buy.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• acquisition
• bargain
• investment
• purchase