buy

[ bahy ]

/ baɪ /

verb (used with object), bought, buy·ing.

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.

verb (used without object), bought, buy·ing.

to be or become a purchaser.

noun

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.

Verb Phrases

buy down, to lower or reduce (the mortgage interest rate) by means of a buy-down.

buy in,

to buy a supply of; accumulate a stock of.
to buy back one's own possession at an auction.
to undertake a buy-in.

Also buy into.

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 for buy

buy it, Slang. to get killed: He bought it at Dunkirk.

Origin of buy

before 1000; Middle English byen, variant of byggen, buggen, Old English bycgan; cognate with Old Saxon buggjan, Gothic bugjan to buy, Old Norse byggja to lend, rent

ANTONYMS FOR buy

1 sell.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR buy ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for buy

1. Buy, purchase imply obtaining or acquiring property or goods for a price. Buy is the common and informal word, applying to any such transaction: to buy a house, vegetables at the market. Purchase is more formal and may connote buying on a larger scale, in a finer store, and the like: to purchase a year's supplies.

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

buy by bye

Words nearby buy

butyryl, butyryl group, buxom, buxtehude, buxton, buy, buy a pig in a poke, buy boat, buy in, buy into, buy it

Example sentences from the Web for buying

Yet we keep doing the cleanses, buying the meal replacement bars, and joining Weight Watchers.

Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail |Carrie Arnold |December 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
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 |DAILY BEAST
The 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 |DAILY BEAST
This 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 |DAILY BEAST

When the “Buying Bubble” bursts, what then for the U.S. economy?

Christmas Is the New Subprime |Doug McIntyre |December 9, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
On that day he was responsible for the dinner,—the cooking, catering, buying and serving.

Days of the Discoverers |L. Lamprey
You see it in their buying and in their selling, in their talk and in their actions.

The Man Who Pleases and the Woman Who Charms |John A. Cone
The streets were jammed with people, buying everything they could before prices jumped again.

Adolescents Only |Irving E. Cox
In the absence of such help she may do her buying in either of two states of mind.

New Homes for Old |Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge
So he remained some time in that island with that merchant Nidhidatta, who was engaged in buying and selling.

The Kath Sarit Sgara |Somadeva Bhatta

British Dictionary definitions for buying

buy

/ (baɪ) /

verb buys, buying or bought (mainly tr)

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

noun

a purchase (often in the phrases good or bad buy)

See also buy in, buy into, buy off, buy out, buy up

Word Origin for buy

Old English bycgan; related to Old Norse byggja to let out, lend, Gothic bugjan to buy

usage for buy

The use of off after buy as in I bought this off my neighbour was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable in informal contexts

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

buy

verb (used with object), bought, buy·ing.

verb (used without object), bought, buy·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

Idioms for buy

Origin of buy

ANTONYMS FOR buy

synonym study for buy

OTHER WORDS FROM buy

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH buy

Words nearby buy

Example sentences from the Web for buying

British Dictionary definitions for buying

verb buys, buying or bought (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for buy

usage for buy

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

buy

verb (used with object), bought, buy·ing.

verb (used without object), bought, buy·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

Idioms for buy

Origin of buy

ANTONYMS FOR buy

synonym study for buy

OTHER WORDS FROM buy

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH buy

Words nearby buy

Words related to buying

Example sentences from the Web for buying

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for buying

verb buys, buying or bought (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for buy

usage for buy

British Dictionary definitions for buying