buy

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buy [verb] (PAY FOR)

to get something by paying money for it

US /baɪ/ 
UK /baɪ/ 
Example: 

Eventually she had saved enough money to buy a small car.

Oxford Essential Dictionary

buy

 verb (buys, buying, bought /, has bought)

pronunciation
The word buy sounds like my.

to give money to get something:
I bought a new watch.
He bought the car from a friend.
Look at sell.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

buy

I. buy1 S1 W1 /baɪ/ BrE AmE verb (past tense and past participle bought /bɔːt $ bɒːt/)
[Language: Old English; Origin: bycgan]
1.
a) [intransitive and transitive] to get something by paying money for it OPP sell:
Where did you buy that dress?
Ricky showed her the painting he’d bought that morning.
buy somebody something
Let me buy you a drink.
buy something for somebody/something
The money will be used to buy equipment for the school.
buy (something) from somebody
It’s cheaper to buy direct from the manufacturer.
buy something for $10/£200 etc
Dan bought the car for $2,000.
It’s much cheaper to buy in bulk (=buy large quantities of something).
b) [transitive] if a sum of money buys something, it is enough to pay for it:
$50 doesn’t buy much these days.
buy somebody something
$15 should buy us a pizza and a drink.
2. buy (somebody) time to deliberately make more time for yourself to do something, for example by delaying a decision:
‘Can we talk about it later?’ he said, trying to buy a little more time.
3. [transitive] informal to believe something that someone tells you, especially when it is not likely to be true:
‘Let’s just say it was an accident.’ ‘He’ll never buy that.’
4. [transitive] informal to pay money to someone, especially someone in a position of authority, in order to persuade them to do something dishonest SYN bribe:
People say the judge had been bought by the Mafia.
5. buy something at the cost/expense/price of something to get something that you want, but only by losing something else:
The town has been careful not to buy prosperity at the expense of its character.
6. somebody bought it old-fashioned informal someone was killed
7. buy off-plan if you buy property off-plan, you buy a house, flat etc that is just starting to be built, with an arrangement to pay part of the cost of the property at that time and the balance when the property is finished
• • •
THESAURUS
buy to pay money for something so that you can own it: I’ve just bought a new car. | The painting was bought by a museum in New York.
purchase formal to buy something, especially something large or expensive, in a business deal or by a legal contract: They purchased 5,000 acres of land.
acquire formal to become the owner of something large or expensive such as property, a company, or a valuable object: In 2007 the business was acquired by a Dutch company. | Television companies were then allowed to acquire more stations.
get especially spoken to buy something, especially ordinary things such as food, clothes, or things for your house: Did you remember to get some bread? | I never know what to get Dad for his birthday.
snap something up informal to buy something immediately, especially because it is very cheap, or because you want it very much and you are worried that someone else might buy it first: Real estate in the area is being snapped up by developers.
pick something up informal to buy something, especially something ordinary such as food or a newspaper, or something that you have found by chance and are pleased about owning: Could you pick up some milk on your way home? | It’s just a little thing I picked up when I was in Kathmandu.
stock up to buy a lot of something you use regularly, because you may not be able to buy it later, or because you are planning to use more of it than usual: The supermarkets are full of people stocking up for the New Year’s holiday. | We always stock up on cheap wine when we go to France. | Before the blizzard, we stocked up on food.
splash out British English informal, splurge American English informal to buy something you would not usually buy, because it is too expensive, in order to celebrate an event or make yourself feel good: Why don’t you splash out on a new dress for the party? | We splurged on an expensive hotel for the last night of the vacation.
buy something ↔ in phrasal verb
to buy something in large quantities:
Companies are buying in supplies of paper, in case the price goes up.
buy into something phrasal verb
1. informal to accept that an idea is right and allow it to influence you:
I never bought into this idea that you have to be thin to be attractive.
2. to buy part of a business or organization, especially because you want to control it:
Investors were invited to buy into state-owned enterprises.
buy somebody ↔ off phrasal verb
to pay someone money to stop them causing trouble or threatening you SYN bribe
buy out phrasal verb
1. buy somebody/something ↔ out to buy someone’s share of a business or property that you previously owned together, so that you have complete control ⇨ ↑buyout
2. buy somebody out of something to pay money so that someone can leave an organization such as the army before their contract has ended
buy something ↔ up phrasal verb
to quickly buy as much of something as possible, for example land, tickets, or goods:
Much of the land was bought up by property developers.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

buy

buy [buy buys bought buying] verb, noun   [baɪ]    [baɪ] 

verb (bought, bought   [bɔːt]  ;   [bɔːt]  

 

WITH MONEY
1. transitive, intransitive to obtain sth by paying money for it
~ (sth) Where did you buy that dress?
If you're thinking of getting a new car, now is a good time to buy.
~ sth from sb I bought it from a friend for £10.
~ sb sth He bought me a new coat.
~ sth for sb He bought a new coat for me.
~ sth + adj. I bought my car second-hand.

Opp:  sell

2. transitive ~ sth (of money) to be enough to pay for sth
• He gave his children the best education that money can buy.

• Five pounds doesn't buy much nowadays.

3. transitive ~ sb to persuade sb to do sth dishonest in return for money
Syn:  bribe

• He can't be bought (= he's too honest to accept money in this way).  

 

OBTAIN

4. transitive, usually passive ~ sth to obtain sth by losing sth else of great value

• Her fame was bought at the expense of her marriage.  

 

BELIEVE

5. transitive ~ sth (informal) to believe that sth is true, especially sth that is not very likely
You could say you were ill but I don't think they'd buy it (= accept the explanation).
more at the best that money can buy at  best  n., (buy) a pig in a poke at  pig  n., sell sb/buy a pup at  pup 
Verb forms:

 
Word Origin:
Old English bycgan, of Germanic origin.  
Thesaurus:
buy verb T
I bought a new coat.
especially spoken get|informal pick sth upsnap sth up|formal purchaseacquire
Opp: sell
buy/get/snap up/purchase/acquire (a) property/company/house
buy/get/purchase/acquire land/premises/a site/tickets
get/pick up/snap up a bargain  
Example Bank:
He bought a car for his daughter.
I bought it for $25.
I bought some books from a friend.
I can't afford to buy a new car.
It's the best that money can buy.
Old bicycles can be bought quite cheaply.
She makes her living buying and selling antiques.
There are some things money can't buy.
Was the produce imported or bought locally?
We can afford to buy enough paint to do the whole house.
Young people are very comfortable buying online.
Five pounds doesn't buy much nowadays.
I bought this from a friend for £10.
If you're thinking of getting a new car, now is a good time to buy.
Idioms: bought it  buy the farm  buy time

Derived: buy into something  buy somebody off  buy somebody out  buy something in  buy something up 

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

buy / baɪ / verb ( bought , bought ) (PAY FOR)

A1 [ I or T ] to get something by paying money for it:

Eventually she had saved enough money to buy a small car.

[ + two objects ] He bought his mother some flowers/He bought some flowers for his mother.

There are more people buying at this time of the year so prices are high.

The company was set up to buy and sell shares on behalf of investors.

I bought my camera from a friend of mine.

buy sb's silence to pay someone or do something for someone, so that they do not tell anyone something that they know about and that you want to remain secret:

What will we have to do to buy her silence?

 

buy / baɪ / verb [ T ] ( bought , bought ) informal (BELIEVE)

to believe that something is true:

She'll never buy that story about you getting lost!

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

buy

[ba͟ɪ]
 
 buys, buying, bought
 1) VERB If you buy something, you obtain it by paying money for it.
  [V n] He could not afford to buy a house...
  [V n] They can now be bought fresh in supermarkets...
  [V pron-refl n] Lizzie bought herself a mountain bike...
  [V n n] I'd like to buy him lunch.
 2) VERB If you talk about the quantity or standard of goods an amount of money buys, you are referring to the price of the goods or the value of the money.
  [V n] About ₤35,000 buys a habitable house...
  [V n n] If the pound's value is high, British investors will spend their money abroad because the pound will buy them more.
 3) VERB If you buy something like time, freedom, or victory, you obtain it but only by offering or giving up something in return.
  [V n] It was a risky operation, but might buy more time...
  [V n] For them, affluence was bought at the price of less freedom in their work environment.
 4) VERB: usu passive (disapproval) If you say that a person can be bought, you are criticizing the fact that they will give their help or loyalty to someone in return for money.
  [be V-ed] Once he shows he can be bought, they settle down to a regular payment.
  Syn:
  bribe
 5) VERB If you buy an idea or a theory, you believe and accept it. [INFORMAL]
  [V n] I'm not buying any of that nonsense.
 PHRASAL VERB
 Buy into means the same as buy. V P n I bought into the popular myth that when I got the new car or the next house, I'd finally be happy.
 6) N-COUNT: supp N If something is a good buy, it is of good quality and not very expensive.
  This was still a good buy even at the higher price...
  S & G offers great buys on computer software.
  Phrasal Verbs:
  - buy into
  - buy off
  - buy out
  - buy up
  Syn:
  bargain

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

1buy /ˈbaɪ/ verb buys; bought /ˈbɑːt/; buy·ing
1 : to get (something) by paying money for it : purchase

[+ obj]

• I bought a computer.
• I bought this hat for $10.
• He bought the quilt from a local artist.
• He bought dinner for us. = He bought us dinner.

[no obj]

• Stock prices are low, so now is a good time to buy.
- opposite sell
2 [+ obj] of money : to be able to get something
• A quarter won't buy (you) much these days.
• Money can't buy love.
3 [+ obj] informal : to accept or believe (something) as true
• He said it was a mistake, but I don't buy it.
4 [+ obj] informal : to give money to someone in order to get that person to do something illegal or dishonest for you : bribe
- usually used as (be) bought
• an honest policeman who can't be bought
- see also buy off (below)
5 [+ obj] : to get (something) by losing or giving up something - usually used as (be) bought
• Peace was finally bought, but at the cost of many lives.
buy a pup
- see pup
buy in [phrasal verb] buy in (something) or buy (something) in Brit : to buy a large amount of (something)
• Be sure to buy in a lot of tinned food in case we're snowed up.
buy into [phrasal verb] buy into (something)
1 : to pay money in order to own part of (something, such as a company or sports team)
• Investors are buying into Internet companies.
2 : to accept or believe (something) as true
• The book teaches kids not to buy into the notion that money brings happiness.
buy it or US buy the farm informal : to die
• I nearly bought the farm when my car skidded off the road.
buy off [phrasal verb] buy off (someone) or buy (someone) off : to give money to (someone) for illegal or dishonest help
• Many believe that Jones bought off the police so that he would not be investigated for the murder.
- see also 1buy 4 (above)
buy out [phrasal verb] buy out (someone) or buy (someone) out : to pay money to (someone) for his or her part of a company or team
• She bought out her partners so that she could manage the company the way she wanted to.
- see also buyout
buy time : to get more time for someone or something
• The medication won't cure the disease but it will buy patients some time. [=it will allow patients to live longer]
buy up [phrasal verb] buy up (something) or buy (something) up : to pay money for all or a large part of (something)
• The company has bought up the old factories along the river and will convert them into apartments.
• She is buying up all the artist's early work.