Showing results for "bought"

• past tense form of buy.
• past participle of buy.

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

It has the same capacity as when I bought it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 12, 2026

Scott said he bought his own camper van to rival Lukaszuk's Unity Bus.

From BBC • Jul. 11, 2026

I bought a tub of amatriciana, flecked with visible hunks of guanciale and red pepper flakes, and a box of rigatoni.

From Salon • Jul. 11, 2026

Elsewhere, Unilever last month talked up Liquid I.V., a maker of electrolyte-drink mixes that it bought in 2020.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 11, 2026

So the teachers got a new sofa and chairs, and the furniture store donated a new rug, and they painted the walls and fixed the door and bought new curtains and a big green plant.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson