bought
ˈbȯt 
; buying
; buying
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
2
a
: to obtain in exchange for something often at a sacrifice
They bought peace with their freedom.
b
Christianity
: redeem sense 6
bought us with his blood
4
: to be the purchasing equivalent of
The dollar buys less today than it used to.
: to make a purchase
Now is a good time to buy.
1
: something of value at a favorable price
2
: an act of acquiring possession, ownership, or rights to the use or services of something by payment especially of money : an act of buying (see buy entry 1 sense 1) : purchase
an undercover drug buy
Synonyms
Examples of buy in a Sentence
Verb
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.
Noun
four cartons of ice cream for four dollars is a real buy
Recent Examples on the Web
Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 21 Apr. 2024
But when a Minnesota company called Minnetonka bought a large consignment of lotion pumps and began mass-producing liquid soap, the idea took off.
—USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
In general, 3 years old is a good age to buy a child their own train set.
—Laura Lu, Ms, Parents, 21 Apr. 2024
The trend started in 1909, when the U.S. Army Signal Corps bought a Wright Military Flyer from the Wright brothers for $30,000, and has kept apace for more than a century as dozens of aircraft types were converted for the armed forces.
—Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 21 Apr. 2024
There are plenty of companies buying houses for cash these days.
—Kc Property Group, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2024
Private equity giant Blackstone bid $1.5 billion to buy Hipgnosis Songs Fund on Saturday (April 20), marking a significant escalation in the fight for control of the troubled music royalty fund and its collection of rights to songs by Neil Young, Journey, Lindsey Buckingham, Blondie and others.
—Elizabeth Dilts Marshall, Billboard, 20 Apr. 2024
Now the city is proposing to buy the county’s half-ownership share of the old Raiders site for $12 million, and its equal share of the Malibu lot for $8.7 million.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
Ray Tamayo is a customer who visits Elk Grove CBD to buy gummies.
—Marcus D. Smith, Sacramento Bee, 19 Apr. 2024
Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
Unlock the Burrito Vault, an interactive game that asks players to guess two order combinations, for a chance to redeem a buy one, get one free entree offer.
—Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 3 Apr. 2024
The results are based on the trading platform’s customer notional net percentage buy/sell behavior for stocks that comprise the S&P 500 sectors.
—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
By some estimates, California renters could save $112,000 or more over five years given the cost difference to rent versus buy.
—David Howard, Orange County Register, 1 Apr. 2024
Even after the steep climb in GE’s share price, 14 of the 20 analysts who follow the company rate the stock a buy, with just one recommending investors sell, according to Bloomberg.
—Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
To be clear, this doesn’t mean PDI is a great buy at all times.
—Michael Foster, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
As part of a $30 million ad buy in March, the campaign launched multiple ads targeting Black voters in the battleground states.
—Aaron Navarro, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2024
The Biden campaign rolled out a $30 million ad buy earlier this month targeting battleground states, as well as Black and Latino voters.
—Max Greenwood, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024
Verb
Headless Body Found Floating in Fish Tank Identified as Missing Man
In an affidavit previously obtained by PEOPLE, Egg’s credit card has been used to buy a BMW.
—Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 21 Apr. 2024
But when a Minnesota company called Minnetonka bought a large consignment of lotion pumps and began mass-producing liquid soap, the idea took off.
—USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
In general, 3 years old is a good age to buy a child their own train set.
—Laura Lu, Ms, Parents, 21 Apr. 2024
The trend started in 1909, when the U.S. Army Signal Corps bought a Wright Military Flyer from the Wright brothers for $30,000, and has kept apace for more than a century as dozens of aircraft types were converted for the armed forces.
—Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 21 Apr. 2024
There are plenty of companies buying houses for cash these days.
—Kc Property Group, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2024
Private equity giant Blackstone bid $1.5 billion to buy Hipgnosis Songs Fund on Saturday (April 20), marking a significant escalation in the fight for control of the troubled music royalty fund and its collection of rights to songs by Neil Young, Journey, Lindsey Buckingham, Blondie and others.
—Elizabeth Dilts Marshall, Billboard, 20 Apr. 2024
Now the city is proposing to buy the county’s half-ownership share of the old Raiders site for $12 million, and its equal share of the Malibu lot for $8.7 million.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
Ray Tamayo is a customer who visits Elk Grove CBD to buy gummies.
—Marcus D. Smith, Sacramento Bee, 19 Apr. 2024
Noun
These items are popular buys at our area’s warehouse clubs — a trio of Costco’s Kirkland Signature, Sam’s Club Member’s Mark and BJ’s Wellsley Farms products.
—Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
Unlock the Burrito Vault, an interactive game that asks players to guess two order combinations, for a chance to redeem a buy one, get one free entree offer.
—Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 3 Apr. 2024
The results are based on the trading platform’s customer notional net percentage buy/sell behavior for stocks that comprise the S&P 500 sectors.
—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
By some estimates, California renters could save $112,000 or more over five years given the cost difference to rent versus buy.
—David Howard, Orange County Register, 1 Apr. 2024
Even after the steep climb in GE’s share price, 14 of the 20 analysts who follow the company rate the stock a buy, with just one recommending investors sell, according to Bloomberg.
—Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
To be clear, this doesn’t mean PDI is a great buy at all times.
—Michael Foster, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
As part of a $30 million ad buy in March, the campaign launched multiple ads targeting Black voters in the battleground states.
—Aaron Navarro, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2024
The Biden campaign rolled out a $30 million ad buy earlier this month targeting battleground states, as well as Black and Latino voters.
—Max Greenwood, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'buy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Dictionary Entries Near buy
Cite this Entry
“Buy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buy. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
buy
1 of 2 verb
bought
ˈbȯt
; buying
; buying
1
: to get by paying money for : purchase
2
: to gain control over by bribery
buy votes
3
: believe sense 3
I don't buy that nonsense
buy
2 of 2 nounLove words? Need even more definitions?
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