Definition of buy
bought
play \ˈbȯt\;buying
transitive verb
1 : to acquire possession, ownership, or rights to the use or services of by payment especially of money : purchase buy a car buying stock in the company bought us dinner
2a : to obtain in exchange for something often at a sacrifice They bought peace with their freedom.b Christianity : redeem 6 bought us with his blood
4 : to be the purchasing equivalent of The dollar buys less today than it used to.
5 : accept, believe I don't buy that hooey. —often used with into buy into a compromise
intransitive verb
: to make a purchase Now is a good time to buy.
buy into
: to purchase a portion of or interest in the TV network bought into its local football team
buy it
orbuy the farm
: to get killed : die
buy time
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Examples of buy in a Sentence
I bought this hat for $10.
He bought the quilt from a local artist.
Stock prices are low, so now is a good time to buy.
He said it was a mistake, but I don't buy it.
Recent Examples of buy from the Web
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A Cap Gemini survey of consumers in the U.S., China, and Germany ten years ago showed that only 18 percent of respondents would be likely to buy a car online.
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Simpson, the former NFL player who was acquitted in 1995 in the fatal stabbings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, bought the four-bedroom, four-bath house near Pinecrest in 2000 for $575,000.
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In 2015, Beacon Partners paid $10.1 million to buy the site.
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So is all this enough to buy Lisa Murkowski’s vote?
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At least neither of them bought a wax William Henry Harrison, who holds the distinction of serving the shortest presidential term (31 days) before dying in office of a cold.
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And a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a real one.
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The snack side of the business was bought by a team of private investors headed by Dean Metropoulos and Apollo Global Management.
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Her discoverer is John Maloof, who bought the collection two years before her death in 2009 at age 83.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'buy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of buy
Middle English byen, from Old English bycgan; akin to Goth bugjan to buy
Other Business Terms
buy
Definition of buy
Examples of buy in a Sentence
four cartons of ice cream for four dollars is a real buy
Recent Examples of buy from the Web
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BUY LOW SELLHIGH drops a notch in class and has the speed to be dangerous.
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Every Friday performance is an Educator Appreciation Night with buy-one-get-one free tickets to all educators with a school ID.
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Third-party sellers were in the buy box for more than 10 percent of the backlist titles Lubart has reviewed.
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Lim has the equivalent of a buy rating on the shares.
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The Montgomery police officer arrested on drug charges on Tuesday was found in possession of cash used in an undercover drug buy that took place at her residence, court documents claim.
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If Barnum’s words could not convince Bergh of the value of public buy-in, spectacle would have to substitute.
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No records from local TV stations reporting the ad buy had yet been filed with the Federal Communications Commission as of Tuesday afternoon.
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The investigation involved wiretaps, dozens of undercover drug buys and surveillance, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'buy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of buy
see 1buy
Other Business Terms
BUY Defined for English Language Learners
buy
playDefinition of buy for English Language Learners
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: to get (something) by paying money for it
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of money : to be able to get something
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: to accept or believe (something) as true
buy
Definition of buy for English Language Learners
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—used to describe something that is being sold
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: an act of buying something
BUY Defined for Kids
Learn More about buy
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for buy Spanish Central: Translation of buy Nglish: Translation of buy for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of buy for Arabic speakers
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