buy it
Idioms-
Suffer a severe reversal, as in If they can't raise the money in time, they'll buy it . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]
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Be killed; die. For example, By the time we could get to the hospital, he had bought it . Originating during World War I as military slang, this term later was extended to peacetime forms of death. A later slang equivalent is buy the farm , dating from about 1950. For example, He'll soon buy the farm riding that motorcycle . According to J.E. Lighter, it alludes to training flights crashing in a farmer's field, causing the farmer to sue the government for damages sufficient to pay off the farm's mortgage. Since the pilot usually died in such a crash, he in effect bought the farm with his life.
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Believe it; see buy something .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She said food is still available, but it isn’t always possible to buy it as the governor has imposed a de facto curfew, ordering restaurants and stores to close at 8 p.m.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
But in those circumstances, short sellers provide dry kindling for a conflagration because when the stock jumps, they race to buy it at any price and return borrowed shares.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026
“You should buy it because you want and/or need a death benefit that will last your entire life, because first and foremost, this is life insurance.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026
A pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy has been approved in the UK, meaning people can soon buy it with a prescription.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
It is precious to me, though I buy it with great pain.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
