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| Language: | Old English |
| Origin: | bycgan |
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buy1 S1 W1
past tense and past participle bought
past tense and past participle bought1
a) [intransitive and transitive] to get something by paying money for it [≠ sell]: Where did you buy that dress? Ricky showed her the painting he'd bought that morning.
Where did you buy that dress?Ricky showed her the painting he'd bought that morning.b) [transitive] if a sum of money buys something, it is enough to pay for it : $50 doesn't buy much these days.
$50 doesn't buy much these days. buy somebody something $15 should buy us a pizza and a drink.
$15 should buy us a pizza and a drink.2 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.
buy (somebody) time
'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 :
4 [transitive] informal to pay money to someone, especially someone in a position of authority, in order to persuade them to do something dishonest [= bribe]: People say the judge had been bought by the Mafia.
People say the judge had been bought by the Mafia.5 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.
buy something at the cost/expense/price of something
The town has been careful not to buy prosperity at the expense of its character.7 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
buy off-plan
buy something ↔ in
phrasal verbCompanies are buying in supplies of paper, in case the price goes up.buy into something
phrasal verb1 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.
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.
Investors were invited to buy into state-owned enterprises.buy somebody ↔ off
phrasal verbbuy out
phrasal verb1BFS to buy someone's share of a business or property that you previously owned together, so that you have complete control ➔ buyout
buy somebody/something ↔ out
2 to pay money so that someone can leave an organization such as the army before their contract has ended
buy somebody out of something
buy something ↔ up
phrasal verbMuch of the land was bought up by property developers.