Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To acquire in exchange for money or its equivalent; purchase.
- intransitive verb To be capable of purchasing.
- intransitive verb To acquire by sacrifice, exchange, or trade.
- intransitive verb To bribe.
- intransitive verb Informal To accept the truth or feasibility of.
- intransitive verb To purchase something; act as a purchaser.
- noun Something bought or for sale; a purchase.
- noun An act of purchasing.
- noun Something that is underpriced; a bargain.
- idiom (buy it) To be killed.
- idiom (buy the farm) To die, especially suddenly or violently.
- idiom (buy time) To increase the time available for a specific purpose.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To acquire the possession of, or the right or title to, by paying a consideration or an equivalent, usually in money; obtain by paying a price to the seller; purchase: opposed to sell.
- Hence To get, acquire, or procure for any kind of equivalent: as, to
buy favor with flattery. - To bribe; corrupt or pervert by giving a consideration; gain over by money, etc.
- To be sufficient to purchase or procure; serve as an equivalent in procuring: as, gold cannot buy health.
- To aby; suffer.
- To buy for the owner at a public sale, especially when an insufficient price is offered.
- To purchase all the share or shares of (a person) in a stock, fund, or partnership, or all his interest in a business: as, A buys out B.
- To be or become a purchaser.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To negotiate or treat about a purchase.
- transitive verb To acquire the ownership of (property) by giving an accepted price or consideration therefor, or by agreeing to do so; to acquire by the payment of a price or value; to purchase; -- opposed to sell.
- transitive verb To acquire or procure by something given or done in exchange, literally or figuratively; to get, at a cost or sacrifice.
- transitive verb [Obs.] See
Againbuy . - transitive verb To detach by a consideration given; as,
to buy off one from a party. - transitive verb To purchase the entire stock in trade and the good will of a business.
- transitive verb to purchase stock in any fund or partnership.
- transitive verb to purchase, on a promise, in fact or in law, to make payment at a future day.
- transitive verb to give a consideration for the right of purchasing, at a fixed price, at a future time.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
obtain (something) inexchange for money or goods - verb transitive To obtain by some sacrifice.
- verb transitive To
bribe . - verb transitive To be equivalent to in value.
- verb transitive, informal to
accept as true; tobelieve - verb intransitive To make a purchase or purchases, to
treat (for a meal) - verb poker slang, transitive To make a
bluff , usually a large one. - noun Something which is bought; a
purchase .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence
- verb acquire by trade or sacrifice or exchange
- verb obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
- verb accept as true
- noun an advantageous purchase
- verb be worth or be capable of buying
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word buy.
Examples
-
If you haven't gotten ten to at least say they'll buy, where do you get your hubris to proclaim that thousands actually will buy?
nPost 2010
-
Whandall understood that the word buy was an insult.
The Burning City Larry Niven 2000
-
He said media reports wrongly characterize what he called "buy and sell" shops as pawnshops in stories about police raids.
-
The enormous investment is worthwhile not only for the opportunity at a title buy but also to persuade James to re-sign this summer.
CNN.com 2010
-
"We've been looking at what I call the buy-versus-make situation to see whether there isn't ultimately a more economic solution," he told analysts Thursday.
-
And yet the word "buy" is significant; for we are elsewhere bidden, "buy wine and milk without money and without price," and "buy of Christ gold tried in the fire," &c.
-
WTF would YOU know about ‘expensive liquor’ when all you are allowed to buy is PAVLOV?
-
I'm half way through this month's Saveur and dreaming about the tamales that I use to buy from a lady on a country road out in Marble Falls.
Saveur, the Texas issue | Homesick Texan Homesick Texan 2009
-
Nuhiva's bumping along astern there, though what she can buy is beyond me.
THE PEARLS OF PARLAY 2010
-
I hope Lindsey and McCain buy a house and and enjoy their golden years together
Think Progress » Graham Falsely Claims GOP Has Only Used Reconciliation With ‘Bipartisan Support’ 2010
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.