buy off

verb

bought off; buying off; buys off

transitive verb

1

: to induce to refrain (as from prosecution) by a payment or other consideration

2

: to free (as from military service) by payment

Examples of buy off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Finally, Putin has purchased support by buying off men mobilized to the front, workers in military plants, and their family members. —Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2025

The deal was one of the first of its kind: a freshman college football player launching a retail product that fans could buy off the shelf. —Amelia Hurley, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2025

Hartman didn’t pull any punches, suggesting Disney had effectively bought off Fubo in a bid to clear the runway for the Venu launch. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 10 Jan. 2025

Both had apparently assumed, prior to October 7th, that Hamas could be deterred by periodic eruptions of overwhelming violence, or else be bought off by cash from Qatar. —Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1614, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for buy off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff