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Which city did President Jefferson hope to acquire before making the Louisiana Purchase?

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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

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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

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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

Rather than testing isolated cranberry compounds, Wu chose to investigate pure cranberry juice, a product people can readily purchase and consume.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

“Decades ago airlines did load schedules/fares online for purchase all at once, typically at the beginning of the week, often resulting in the best fares available on Tuesday,” she says.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

Perez said she wasn’t able to get her balance restored or money back because she didn’t have the original purchase receipt and had to pay for the items out of her own pocket.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

Sethi cautions that just because you can purchase a house doesn’t mean buying one is a good idea; far from it.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

The scanner beep, beep, beeps for every purchase, and Dad exchanges mindless words with the clerk about the weather.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari

Recently, rising bond yields have made consumer loans for major purchases more expensive.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

Other times, he skips verification entirely and takes the card straight to the store to make purchases.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

In May, CEO Andy Jassy described placing inventory closer to customers and combining more purchases into each shipment.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

But not everyone has the disposable income that allows these types of purchases, said Samantha, 47.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

He recalls dates, of course, events, purchases, activity, even scenes.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison

“But I say to Drew, you purchased $250 to $300 a piece tickets,” McHenry said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Maggie, in Tucson, also purchased her home in 2021.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

The corporation said the Lotto Max jackpot ticket was purchased a year ago at a retailer in Grey County, Ontario.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

Lorre purchased his original Pacific Palisades abode for $2.6 million in 1995.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

Today the AT is a wilderness by design—actually, by fiat, since many of the properties Shaffer passed were later compulsorily purchased and quietly returned to woodland.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

The disclosure requirements also include group purchasing organizations tied to PBMs, which can collect rebate payments on their behalf.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

As Anna Holmes recently pointed out in her blistering New Yorker essay, more than half of millennials have had parental help purchasing their home.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

“It’s not predatory just because we’re purchasing receivables on it,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

The scheme is expected to offer 2.5% deposits alongside government-backed equity loans for eligible first-time buyers purchasing new-build homes.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

“Very much so. We talked about it again the following day. He’d decided to go have a talk with Carl Heine, to see him about purchasing the seven acres.”

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

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Related Words

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