1
: an act or instance of buying out
2
: a financial incentive offered to an employee in exchange for an early retirement or voluntary resignation
bought out; buying out; buys out
1
: to purchase the share or interest of
2
: to purchase the entire stock-in-trade and the goodwill of (a business)
Examples of buyout in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 12 June 2026
Over the past two years, almost 10% of the staff has taken buyouts as the university has cut staff.
—Alan Gionet, CBS News, 11 June 2026
Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 10 June 2026
One million of that was paid to Arkansas to buy out Musselman’s contract.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for buyout
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Noun
Speaking of staffing elsewhere at the agency, there was most recently another round of buyouts.
—Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 12 June 2026
Over the past two years, almost 10% of the staff has taken buyouts as the university has cut staff.
—Alan Gionet, CBS News, 11 June 2026
Verb
In most cases, these leases were bought out by conservation groups to ensure that leasees were compensated for the loss of their historic use of public lands.
—Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 10 June 2026
One million of that was paid to Arkansas to buy out Musselman’s contract.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for buyout
Cite this Entry
“Buyout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buyout. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
buyout
1 of 2 noun
buy·out
ˈbī-ˌau̇t 
: an act or instance of buying out
buy out
2 of 2 transitive verb1
: to purchase the share or interest of
2
: to purchase the entire tangible and intangible assets of (a business)
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