buy
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.
to be or become a purchaser.
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.
buy down, to lower or reduce (the mortgage interest rate) by means of a buy-down.
buy in, : Also buy into.
to buy a supply of; accumulate a stock of.
to buy back one's own possession at an auction.
to undertake a buy-in.
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.
Idioms about buy
buy it, Slang. to get killed: He bought it at Dunkirk.
Origin of buy
1synonym study For buy
Opposites for buy
Other words from buy
- buy·a·ble, adjective
- non·buy·ing, adjective, noun
- pre·buy, verb (used with object), pre·bought, pre·buy·ing.
- re·buy, verb, re·bought, re·buy·ing.
- un·buy·a·ble, adjective
- un·buy·ing, adjective
Words that may be confused with buy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use buy in a sentence
Right now, 8K TVs aren’t a great buy since they command a high price premium without providing a ton of native content to watch on it.
The Xbox Series X offers killer gaming—if your TV can handle it | Stan Horaczek | November 11, 2020 | Popular-ScienceFiveThirtyEight elections analyst Nathaniel Rakich looks at which states are seeing the biggest ad buys.
Democrats And Republicans Are Spending Millions On TV Advertising. Will It Even Make A Difference? | Nathaniel Rakich (nathaniel.rakich@fivethirtyeight.com) | October 29, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightIn the past several months, however, that has shifted with at least three or four times more RFPs that specifically reference local publications as an important part of the buy, he said.
‘We popped champagne corks’: Local media is reaping the rewards of a slow reemergence of advertising spend | Kayleigh Barber | October 16, 2020 | Digiday“Our aim is to be as frictionless as possible when we work with buying communities and then we use our first-party data and insights to supplement that buy,” said Alex Hole, vp of Samsung Ads Europe.
‘We want to be as frictionless as possible’: Samsung ramps up its pitch to advertisers across Europe | Seb Joseph | October 15, 2020 | DigidayAdditionally, Donnelly said his team promised a long tail buy to the clients.
‘Both sides benefit’: Why Fast Company pursued more smaller-budget sponsors for tentpole Innovation Festival | Kayleigh Barber | October 14, 2020 | Digiday
Yet we keep doing the cleanses, buying the meal replacement bars, and joining Weight Watchers.
How do you push yourself to be better when you get an Oscar for buying breakfast in the morning?
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange | Marlow Stern | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe one caveat: Asprey advises only buying butter made from grass-fed or pastured cows.
Bulletproof Coffee and the Case for Butter as a Health Food | DailyBurn | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis return scam involved purchasing broken electronics off the auction site and then buying new items off store shelves.
The Insane $11 Billion Scam at Retailers’ Return Desks | M.L. Nestel | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTQuestion 7: Is it permissible to separate a mother from her children through [the act of] buying and selling?
But she is greatly interested in certain shops that she is buying out, and especially in her visits to her tailor.
Confidence | Henry JamesBut what if I catch the fish by using a hired boat and a hired net, or by buying worms as bait from some one who has dug them?
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockWell, I have some sense of values, since I am buying this home, and I do not regard the property as being worth such a sum.
The Homesteader | Oscar MicheauxBarnes was buying it on the instalment system, and I quite won his heart by complimenting him on it.
Uncanny Tales | VariousWhile Lem was buying groceries, Scattergood selected two excellent blankets, carried them out, and put them on the horses.
Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington Kelland
British Dictionary definitions for buy
/ (baɪ) /
to acquire by paying or promising to pay a sum of money or the equivalent; purchase
to be capable of purchasing: money can't buy love
to acquire by any exchange or sacrifice: to 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
a purchase (often in the phrases good or bad buy)
Origin of buy
1usage For buy
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
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