Link Centre Dictionary

buy

UK/baɪ/ US/baɪ/ very common informal slang
verb (5) noun (1)

verb

1.

obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction

  • “The family purchased a new car”
  • “The conglomerate acquired a new company”
  • “She buys for the big department store”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence

  • “This judge can be bought”
Synonyms
3.

acquire by trade or sacrifice or exchange

  • “She wanted to buy his love with her dedication to him and his work”
4.

accept as true

  • “I can”
5.

be worth or be capable of buying

  • “This sum will buy you a ride on the train”

noun

1.

an advantageous purchase

  • “she got a bargain at the auction”
  • “the stock was a real buy at that price”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English byen, from Old English bycġan (“to buy, pay for, acquire, redeem, ransom, procure, get done, sell”), from Proto-West Germanic *buggjan, from Proto-Germanic *bugjaną (“to buy”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰūgʰ- (“to bend”), or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- (“to take away, deliver”). Cognate with Scots buy (“to buy, purchase”), obsolete Dutch beugen (“to buy”), Old Saxon buggian, buggean (“to buy”), Old Norse byggja (“to build, settle”), Gothic 𐌱𐌿𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (bugjan, “to buy”). The spelling with “u” is from the Southwest, while the pronunciation with /aɪ/ is from the East Midlands.

Phrases

  • bought and paid for Terms derived from buy (verb)
  • bought priesthood Terms derived from buy (verb)
  • bring-and-buy sale Terms derived from buy (verb)
  • buy a dog and bark oneself Terms derived from buy (verb)
  • buy a pup Terms derived from buy (verb)
  • buy a ticket to Terms derived from buy (verb)
  • buy and hold Terms derived from buy (verb)
  • buy and pay for Terms derived from buy (verb)

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.