bought

American  

[bawt] / bɔt /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of buy.

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adjective

1. South Midland and Southern U.S. store-bought.

bought British  

/ bɔːt /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of buy

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adjective

1. purchased from a shop; not homemade

bought Idioms  

1. see under buy.

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Other Word Forms

• unbought adjective
• well-bought adjective

Etymology

Origin of bought

First recorded before 900, for the adjective for an earlier sense

Compare meaning

How does bought compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• bought vs. brought

Example Sentences

Last year, the company bought back 1 billion pounds of shares.

From The Wall Street Journal

He bought a team of big red Missouri mules and a covered wagon.

From Literature

Investors who bought tobacco companies in the early 2000s still made massive returns for the next two decades.

From MarketWatch

He also bought shares of the private-credit giant Ares Management in recent sessions.

From The Wall Street Journal

Panic-stricken people bought “comet pills” and gas masks.

From Barron's