repurchase

verb

re·​pur·​chase (ˌ)rē-ˈpər-chəs 

repurchased; repurchasing

transitive verb

: to buy (something) back or again

… some enterprises moving workloads to the cloud won't have to repurchase software they already own.

—Kurt Marko

especially, of a corporation : to purchase back (shares of one's own common stock) on the open market

The company last winter repaid $405 million of debt, repurchased $202 million in common stock and predicted that sales will rise between 3 and 5 percent this year.

—Jeremiah McWilliams

repurchase noun

plural repurchases

… pointed to the trend of share repurchases, or stock buybacks, emerging among major companies … . As they buy back millions, if not billions, of their shares, their supply of stock grows tighter … and their shareholders usually benefit.

—Elizabeth Gurdus

Examples of repurchase in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Selling existing holdings and repurchasing through ISA or pension wrappers could eliminate future tax liabilities, though investors must consider timing and potential capital gains on existing positions. —Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2025

Meanwhile, a deadline for Lux to begin building came and went in June, triggering a clause in its land purchase agreement that allows Westminster to repurchase it if the land is undeveloped. —Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 2 Oct. 2025

After trying the brand’s matcha, our senior editor, Jamie Weissman, repurchased ASAP. —Jamie Fischer, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Sep. 2025

At that rate, companies will repurchase over $1.1 trillion of their shares in 2025, an all-time high, Birinyi said. —Medora Lee, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1533, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing repurchase

• repurchase agreement

Rhymes for repurchase

• purchase

Legal Definition

repurchase

1 of 2 transitive verb

re·​pur·​chase

ˌrē-ˈpər-chəs

repurchased; repurchasing

: to buy back

repurchase shares of stock

repurchase

2 of 2 noun

: the act or an instance of purchasing something again or back

specifically : a corporation's buying back of some of its stock at market price (as to increase the amount of Treasury stock or as a preliminary step to going private)