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Synonyms

buy up

British  

verb

  1. to purchase all, or all that is available, of (something)

  2. commerce to purchase a controlling interest in (a company, etc), as by the acquisition of shares

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
buy up Idioms  

  1. Purchase all that is available, as in They want to buy up all the land in this area. This term was first recorded in a law enacted under Henry VIII: “They buy up all manner of fish.”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They’ll buy up stock in the initial, single company, anticipating the spinoff will unlock value in what will become disparate and separately traded entities.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Some investment firms are separately investing hundreds of millions of dollars to buy up companies in industries such as accounting and customer service so they can automate them with AI.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

For doctors, striking a deal with a firm to buy up most or all of their business can help struggling medical practices obtain much-needed funding to invest in new resources.

From Slate • Mar. 17, 2026

Whittaker from Profca said his group had also contracted a US company to find money to buy up the government bonds already issued to farmers.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026

Mister Hertzoon’s friend intended to buy up all the sugar he could before the news reached Ketterdam.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.