buy

[ bahy ]

/ baɪ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR buy ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), bought, buy·ing.

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

to acquire by exchange or concession: to buy favor with flattery.

to hire or obtain the services of: The Yankees bought a new center fielder.

to bribe: Most public officials cannot be bought.

to be the monetary or purchasing equivalent of: Ten dollars buys less than it used to.

Chiefly Theology. to redeem; ransom.

Cards. to draw or be dealt (a card): He bought an ace.

Informal.

to accept or believe: I don't buy that explanation.
to be deceived by: He bought the whole story.

verb (used without object), bought, buy·ing.

to be or become a purchaser.

noun

an act or instance of buying.

something bought or to be bought; purchase: That coat was a sensible buy.

a bargain: The couch was a real buy.

Verb Phrases

buy down, to lower or reduce (the mortgage interest rate) by means of a buy-down.

buy in,

to buy a supply of; accumulate a stock of.
to buy back one's own possession at an auction.
to undertake a buy-in.

Also buy into.

buy into, to purchase a share, interest, or membership in: They tried to buy into the club but were not accepted.

buy off, 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.

buy out, 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.

buy up, 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.

Nearby words

butyryl, butyryl group, buxom, buxtehude, buxton, buy, buy a pig in a poke, buy boat, buy in, buy into, buy it

Idioms

buy it, Slang. to get killed: He bought it at Dunkirk.

Origin of buy

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

ANTONYMS FOR buy

1 sell.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR buy ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

buy·a·ble, adjectivenon·buy·ing, adjective, nounpre·buy, verb (used with object), pre·bought, pre·buy·ing.re·buy, verb, re·bought, re·buy·ing.

un·buy·a·ble, adjectiveun·buy·ing, adjective

Can be confused

buy by bye

Synonym study

1. 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for buy

Why would “they” want to crush him just for attempting to buy something twenty years ago?
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“This is the only place in the souk you can buy safety pins,” he said.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“For conveniences and shops where you can buy what you need,” it is much easier, he said.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For instance, Best Buy has over 40 million members in its customer loyalty program, Reward Zone.
Best Buy Punches Back at Amazon|William O’Connor|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The NRA has fought for the rights of felons to buy and own firearms.
The NRA’s Twisted List for Santa|John Feinblatt|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He is rich enough to buy it, nay he has Plenty of it, tho' he hardly ever touches it, when he is by himself.
A Letter to Dion|Bernard Mandeville
If you want some butter it doesn't matter whether you buy it from Brown or Jones or Robinson.'
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists|Robert Tressell
But when Jack took out the shilling, and said, “Shall I buy you with this, slave?”
Mopsa the Fairy|Jean Ingelow
Wà ku palita kay mahal man gud, I did not buy it because it was expensive.
A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan|John U. Wolff
I intended to buy a house this Spring (even if you did not).
The Art of Public Speaking|Dale Carnagey (AKA Dale Carnegie) and J. Berg Esenwein

British Dictionary definitions for buy

buy

/ (baɪ) /

verb buys, buying or bought (mainly tr)

to acquire by paying or promising to pay a sum of money or the equivalent; purchase

to be capable of purchasingmoney can't buy love

to acquire by any exchange or sacrificeto buy time by equivocation

(intr) to act as a buyer

to bribe or corrupt; hire by or as by bribery

slang to accept as true, practical, etc

(intr foll by into) to purchase shares of (a company)we bought into General Motors

(tr) theol (esp of Christ) to ransom or redeem (a Christian or the soul of a Christian)

have bought it slang to be killed

noun

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

See also buy in, buy into, buy off, buy out, buy up

Word Origin for buy

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

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