buy
verb (used with object)
to acquire the possession of, or the right to, by paying or promising to pay an equivalent, especially in money; purchase.
had been buying
-
past perfect progressiveof buy.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Some investors had been buying the SpaceX-heavy Baron funds recently as a play on Musk’s company.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
Rubin had been buying a significant amount of mortgage securities, hoping to take advantage of a market for mortgages that had risen 260% in 1986 alone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
The reduction came after CNN Originals had been buying aggressively at film markets for 10 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2024
He was involved in an investigation in 2021 after those suspicions were flagged by a dealer who had been buying gems and other items online.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2023
That way I could prove if he had been buying art supplies or just testing out pens to buy a pen.
From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
