buy off

British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to pay (a person or group) to drop a charge, end opposition, relinquish a claim, etc

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buy off Idioms  

1. Pay to get rid of a claim or opposition, or to avoid prosecution, as in He was caught trying to buy off the opposing candidate. [First half of 1600s]

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Example Sentences

And last week, DeSantis charged that the bill was an attempt to "buy off states with $6 billion if they sacrifice American History for Critical Race Theory and Biden's other political whims of the day."

From Salon

The most ubiquitous drones in this battle are commercial drones, the kind you or I can buy off the shelf.

From BBC

"In short, Tesla hopes to buy off these class members' claims for pennies on the dollar."

From Reuters

Other advocates mentioned the possibility of using prepaid cards in fixed amounts, like the kinds that people can buy off a rack in a drugstore.

From New York Times

Finally, the employee added, ‘If that didn’t work, buy off.’

From Washington Times

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