buy

American  

[bahy] / baɪ /

verb (used with object)

• buys,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bought,
  past participle,  past
• buying
  present participle

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)

• buys,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bought,
  past participle,  past
• buying
  present participle

1. to be or become a purchaser.

noun

• buys
  plural

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. buy into to purchase a share, interest, or membership in.

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

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

3. 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.

4. buy in 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. 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.

6. 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.

idioms

1. buy it, to get killed.

   He bought it at Dunkirk.

buy British  

/ 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. 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. 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

Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rebuy
  verb
• prebuy
  verb (used with object)
• buyable
  adjective
• nonbuying
  adjective
• unbuyable
  adjective
• unbuying
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• buys
  plural

Participles

• buying
  present
• bought
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• buy
  simple
• buys
  simple
• have bought
  perfect
• has bought
  perfect
• am buying
  progressive
• are buying
  progressive
• is buying
  progressive
• have been buying
  perfect progressive
• has been buying
  perfect progressive

Past

• bought
  simple
• had bought
  perfect
• was buying
  progressive
• were buying
  progressive
• had been buying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will buy
  simple
• will have bought
  perfect
• will be buying
  progressive
• will have been buying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of buy

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”

Explanation

When you buy something, you pay money in order to own or obtain it. You might buy your mom a big bouquet of flowers for her birthday. When you buy furniture, food, a car, or candy, you purchase it, exchanging a certain amount of money for it, and when you call something "a buy" or "a steal," it's a real bargain. When you say, "She said she won the lottery, but I don't buy it," you mean that you don't accept that fact as the truth. Even more colloquially, to buy it can also mean "to be killed."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

buy buys bought buying

There are also signs that some investors see higher yields as an opportunity to buy bonds at attractive prices.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

The bank has a buy rating and A$14.00/share target on Greatland.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

It is safe to buy and eat eggs that have a British Lion mark or are produced under the Laid in Britain egg assurance scheme, experts advise.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Nvidia is set to buy artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, news outlet The Information reported on Wednesday, as the US chipmaking giant seeks to diversify.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

I take one and blow my nose, buy a few seconds to arrange my thoughts.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

China buys more than 80 percent of Iran’s oil exports, and Iran is still making almost as much from oil exports now as it was before the war started.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

China buys more than 80% of Iranian oil exports, and although the blockade has limited deliveries, Beijing imported more than 500,000 barrels a day so far in August, according to data firm Kpler.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Neighbouring farms that Scott buys from are also short of fruit.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

When a major studio buys its competitor, it leads to lower compensation for industry workers and reduced choices and diversity for audiences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

In June, Theo buys ten paintings by Claude Monet and shows them at his Montmartre gallery, on the entresol floor.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

The Los Angeles-based real estate company bought Quixote in 2022 for $360 million, saying at the time that the acquisition would address the growing demand for soundstage space.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

During this time, the Fed kept short-term rates at zero, bought bonds to bring down long-term rates and signaled clearly to markets that these arrangements were for an extended period.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

They bought the site after it was gutted by a previous fire in 2021.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Without her example, would Taylor Swift have stood up to the hedge funds who bought her back catalogue, re-recording her biggest hits to rob them of royalties?

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Getting Momma Bear’s attention had bought George a precious few seconds of not being attacked, but Owen didn’t know what to do next.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

The precious metal faces limited downside due to the so-called dollar debasement trade continuing to attract investor buying, ANZ Research analysts write in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

It is also increasingly familiar as buying food in America now seemingly requires a modest talent for detective work.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

But with the median home sale price topping $550,000 in Los Alamos, N.M., where she lives, buying a house isn’t within reach.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

It recommends having electrics checked by a registered electrician before buying panels, particularly in older properties or where the age and condition of the wiring is unknown.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

“We’d be doing something, not just buying something. It’s an even better way to experience how huge six million is.”

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

Related Words

• acquire
• get
• market
• obtain
• procure
• purchase
• take