purchase

American  

[pur-chuhs] / ˈpɜr tʃəs /

verb (used with object)

• purchases,
  present (3rd person singular)
• purchased,
  past participle,  past
• purchasing
  present participle

1. to acquire by the payment of money or its equivalent; buy.

   Synonyms:

   procure, obtain, get

   Antonyms:

   sell

2. to acquire by effort, sacrifice, flattery, etc.

3. to influence by a bribe.

4. to be sufficient to buy.

   Twenty dollars purchases a subscription.

5. Law. to acquire (land or other property) by means other than inheritance.

6. to move, haul, or raise, especially by applying mechanical power.

7. to get a leverage on; apply a lever, pulley, or other aid to.

8. Obsolete. to procure, acquire, or obtain.

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verb (used without object)

• purchases,
  present (3rd person singular)
• purchased,
  past participle,  past
• purchasing
  present participle

1. to buy something.

noun

• purchases
  plural

1. acquisition by the payment of money or its equivalent; buying, or a single act of buying.

2. something that is purchased or bought.

3. something purchased, with respect to value in relation to price; buy.

   At three for a dollar they seemed like a good purchase.

4. Law. the acquisition of land or other property by means other than inheritance.

5. acquisition by means of effort, labor, etc..

   the purchase of comfort at the price of freedom.

6. a lever, pulley, or other device that provides mechanical advantage or power for moving or raising a heavy object.

   Synonyms:

   capstan, winch

7. an effective hold or position for applying power in moving or raising a heavy object; leverage.

8. any means of applying or increasing power, influence, etc.

9. the annual return or rent from land.

10. a firm grip or grasp, footing, etc., on something.

11. Obsolete. booty.

purchase British  

/ ˈpɜːtʃɪs /

verb

1. to obtain (goods, etc) by payment

2. to obtain by effort, sacrifice, etc

   to purchase one's freedom

3. to draw, haul, or lift (a load) with the aid of mechanical apparatus

4. to acquire (an estate) other than by inheritance

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noun

1. something that is purchased, esp an article bought with money

2. the act of buying

3. acquisition of an estate by any lawful means other than inheritance

4. a rough measure of the mechanical advantage achieved by a lever

5. a firm foothold, grasp, etc, as for climbing or levering something

6. a means of achieving some influence, advantage, etc

Synonym Usage

See buy.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpurchase
  noun
• nonpurchaser
  noun
• prepurchase
  noun
• prepurchaser
  noun
• purchaser
  noun
• mispurchase
  verb (used with object)
• overpurchase
  verb (used with object)
• quasi-purchased
  adjective
• unpurchased
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• purchases
  plural

Participles

• purchasing
  present
• purchased
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• purchase
  simple
• purchases
  simple
• have purchased
  perfect
• has purchased
  perfect
• am purchasing
  progressive
• are purchasing
  progressive
• is purchasing
  progressive
• have been purchasing
  perfect progressive
• has been purchasing
  perfect progressive

Past

• purchased
  simple
• had purchased
  perfect
• was purchasing
  progressive
• were purchasing
  progressive
• had been purchasing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will purchase
  simple
• will have purchased
  perfect
• will be purchasing
  progressive
• will have been purchasing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of purchase

First recorded before 1150; (for the verb) Middle English purchasen, from Anglo-French purchacer “to seek to obtain, procure,” from pur- (from Latin prō pro ¹ ) + chacer “to chase” ( see chase ¹); noun derivative of the verb

Explanation

When you purchase a pair of shoes, you buy them. If you want to gain purchase, or favor, with new friends, you might tell them about your recent purchase of chocolate, and offer to share. Purchase can refer to the act of buying or the thing you bought. In 1803, the United States paid France approximately $15,000,000 for 800,000 acres of land which was called Louisiana, in a transaction known as the Louisiana Purchase. In this transaction, the purchase nearly doubled the size of the U.S. — the territory purchased comprises about 23 percent of current U.S. land.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

purchase purchases purchased purchasing

A club's owners could be considered to have moved shares into a new company to leave a sizeable purchase debt in the previous company, and effectively write it off.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

But the purchase of a new oven landed her in hot water.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

One way to achieve that could be to purchase a high volume of puts against a semiconductor index, giving the fund the right to sell at a set price, said market participants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Kushner, a co-founder of a venture capital firm Thrive Capital and the permanent holdings company Thrive Eternal, will have to divest a minority stake in the Miami Heat before the Lakers purchase can be approved.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

“I assume you want to buy the newspaper you’re holding. We ask that customers don’t handle the newspapers unless they plan to purchase one,” the vendor continues, pained.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Over the last few months independent booksellers have been observing a strange pattern of purchases which have seen scores of their novels being shipped to far-off warehouses.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The firms aim to deploy over $500 billion of outside capital in the coming years with the goal of being able to finance chip purchases at “attractive rates.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

At one point in early July, some 90 percent of Russia's regions had imposed limits on fuel purchases -- mostly imposing maximum volume rules -- according to AFP calculations based on local announcements.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Smithfield Foods’ shares declined 2.3% to $23.88 after the meatpacker said inflation-pinched shoppers are cutting back on purchases of packaged pork goods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

But among themselves, as I listened to them excitedly discussing their purchases, they seemed like young men anywhere off on a holiday.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

The former Starbucks exec has not yet revealed what he plans to do with his longtime Seattle mansion, which he and his wife are understood to have purchased in 1997.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

Four months later, having purchased a small number of animals locally to rear for meat, Fiona's fledgling farm in Creetown recorded the first ever case of bluetongue in Scotland.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Night School was the first game developer Netflix purchased in 2021 as it expanded into gaming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

When Chloe Panes, 22, went to Greece in July, she made a point to stop by a pharmacy to find a Korres body cream she had purchased in the country last summer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

I had purchased an air mattress, which I gave to Mother.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Now I’m down to the wire on either purchasing a replacement or paying capital-gains tax and depreciation recapture.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

Flash purchasing managers data for August from France, Germany and the eurozone on Friday will be the highlight of an otherwise light week for economic data in the 21-nation currency area.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

If the total price isn’t prominently displayed or isn’t shown until the end of the purchasing process, consumers may have to go through the checkout process for several flights to see which is the cheapest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

It is Bezos's first investment in a sports team after he was previously linked with purchasing NFL franchises Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Their increased purchasing power afforded them summer vacations to the beach or the mountains.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Related Words

• acquire
• earn
• invest
• pick up
• procure
• redeem
• shop
• take