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,adjectivenon·buy·ing,adjective,nounpre·buy,verb (used with object),pre·bought,pre·buy·ing.re·buy,verb,re·bought,re·buy·ing.
un·buy·a·ble,adjectiveun·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, buyback, buy boat, buy-down, buyer