buy
buy — verb
1. to give money to a shop, person, or company in order to take an item, service, o
to give money to a shop, person, or company in order to take an item, service, or right away with you.
Maya bought a red umbrella at the corner shop on her way home.
buy + object + at + place
Marcus bought his daughter a small bicycle for her seventh birthday.
ditransitive: buy + somebody + something
We bought our flat from an elderly couple who were moving to the countryside.
buy + something + from + somebody
Lina is saving every coin so that she can buy a guitar by Christmas.
The shop closes at six, so come early if you want to buy fresh bread.
- buy cheap
- buy in bulk
- buy online
- buy a ticket
- buy a house
- buy groceries
Grammar Patterns
buy + something
buy + somebody + something
buy + something + for + somebody
buy + something + from + somebody
Usage Note
Past tense and past participle are both 'bought'. The thing paid is normally introduced by 'for' ('for ten dollars'); the seller is introduced by 'from'.
Common Mistakes
2. to give money or a favour to a person, usually one in a position of power, in or
to give money or a favour to a person, usually one in a position of power, in order to get them to act in a way that helps you and is often dishonest.
The drug gang tried to buy several local police officers, but two of them refused.
buy + somebody (in a position of power)
Critics claimed the company had bought the inspector who signed off on the unsafe factory.
You can't buy Judge Tanaka — he has thrown people in jail for even hinting at it.
negative pattern: can't / won't be bought
Some politicians in the small town were easily bought with cash and free holidays.
passive: be bought with + reward
- buy a witness
- buy a judge
- buy votes
- buy off
Grammar Patterns
buy + somebody
buy + somebody + off
Usage Note
Object is normally a person with authority or influence (a judge, official, witness, voter). Often appears in passive ('be bought') or negative ('can't be bought'). Distinct from sense 3, which specifically targets silence about a secret.
Common Mistakes
3. to give money or some other thing to a person so that they will keep quiet about
to give money or some other thing to a person so that they will keep quiet about a secret you do not want made public.
The film star tried to buy the photographer who had pictures of the hotel meeting.
buy + somebody (who holds a secret)
Marcus thought a generous cheque would buy his old assistant, but she went straight to the press.
The studio bought every witness in the building before the story could leak online.
buy + every / the + person who knows
The witness refused to be bought, even when the lawyer offered a million yen.
passive: refuse to be bought
- buy somebody's silence
- buy a witness
- buy off
Grammar Patterns
buy + somebody
buy + somebody's + silence
Usage Note
Differs from sense 2 ('BRIBE') in that the goal is specifically silence about something already known, not getting someone to perform a dishonest act. Often paired with the noun 'silence' (also 'buy somebody's silence').
Common Mistakes
4. to accept that a story, excuse, or claim is true, especially when it sounds unli
to accept that a story, excuse, or claim is true, especially when it sounds unlikely or you are doubtful.
I don't buy the idea that he forgot his wallet for the fourth time this month.
buy + the idea / story (negative)
Will the jury really buy that Marcus was at the cinema when his car was at the scene?
buy + that-clause (in a question)
Our boss bought my excuse about the broken train, even though I had overslept.
buy + an excuse / story
Nobody at school bought Lina's claim that her uncle was a famous astronaut.
- I don't buy it
- buy an excuse
- buy a story
- hard to buy
Grammar Patterns
buy + something (story / excuse / explanation)
buy + that-clause
Usage Note
Most common in negative sentences ('I don't buy it') and questions ('Do you really buy that?'). Object is typically a story, excuse, claim, or that-clause — not a concrete object, which would trigger sense 1.
Common Mistakes
5. (of an amount of money) to have a value high enough that it covers the cost of a
(of an amount of money) to have a value high enough that it covers the cost of a particular item or service.
Twenty dollars won't buy you a decent meal in central Tokyo these days.
money + won't buy + somebody + something
A teacher's monthly salary barely buys a small flat on the edge of the city.
subject is a sum / salary
Mr. Tanaka realised too late that his fortune could not buy back his daughter's trust after years of neglect.
what no money can buy
Back in 1990, fifty pounds bought a week of groceries for the whole household.
- money can't buy
- what little money buys
- barely buys
- no longer buys
- afford
person-subject opposite frame ('she can afford it' vs 'her salary buys it')
- cover
neutral; the money is enough to pay the cost
- stretch to
informal British; the amount is just barely enough
Grammar Patterns
money + buys + something
what + money + can / cannot + buy
Usage Note
Subject must be an amount of money, a salary, or a similar measure of wealth — not a person. Often appears in negative or 'cannot' patterns to make a point about the limits of money.
Common Mistakes
6. to win a result, advantage, or quality by giving up or losing something else tha
to win a result, advantage, or quality by giving up or losing something else that was important to you.
The country bought its independence with the lives of thousands of young soldiers.
buy + abstract goal + with + cost
Marcus bought a few quiet years in the countryside at the cost of his career in the city.
buy + something + at the cost of
Her gold medal was bought with years of pain, missed birthdays, and lonely training mornings.
passive: be bought with + sacrifice
Some companies buy short-term profit by ignoring the safety of their workers.
- buy peace
- buy freedom
- buy victory
- dearly bought
- buy at the cost of
Grammar Patterns
buy + something + with + something
be bought + with + something
Usage Note
Object is normally an abstract gain (peace, freedom, victory, fame). The price is introduced by 'with', 'at the cost of', or 'by + -ing'. Often passive when the gain is the focus.
Common Mistakes
buy into
phrasal verbto accept and start supporting an idea, plan, or set of beliefs, often after some doubt; or to pay money so you become a part owner of a business.
Many young workers no longer buy into the idea that they must stay at one company for life.
Marcus bought into his cousin's bakery and now helps run the weekend market stall.
buy out
phrasal verbto pay another person for their share of a business or property so that you become the only owner.
After the divorce, Lina bought out her ex-husband's half of the small bookshop.
A larger company bought out the family hotel and turned it into a chain branch.
buy up
phrasal verbto buy as much of something as you can, often quickly and before other people get the chance.
Tourists bought up every bottle of the local rice wine before the festival even began.
Big developers are buying up old houses near the new train station.
buy in
phrasal verbto purchase a supply of something in advance because you will need it soon or it may be hard to find later.
The café owner bought in extra coffee beans before the supplier raised prices last month.
buy off
phrasal verbto give somebody money or favours so that they stop making trouble for you or stop opposing your plans.
The factory boss tried to buy off the angry neighbours with cash and free electricity.
You cannot buy off every critic — sooner or later one of them will speak out.
buy time
idiomto do something so that an event, decision, or deadline is delayed and you have a chance to think or get ready.
Sarah told a long story about traffic to buy time before the angry client arrived.
The lawyer asked endless small questions, mostly to buy time for her assistant to find the missing file.
buy it
idiomto die, especially in an accident or war (used informally and often jokingly).
Old soldiers in the village still talk about the friends who bought it on the beaches in 1944.
buy a pig in a poke
idiomto pay for an item without first checking it carefully, so you risk getting something of poor quality.
Never buy a used motorbike online without seeing it — that is buying a pig in a poke.
of the very highest quality, since the buyer was willing to pay a top price.
The Watanabe family booked the best hotel in Kyoto that money could buy for their grandparents' anniversary.
(have) bought it
idiomThis means someone has died, usually in an accident or war.
The pilot bought it when his plane crashed into the mountain.
Did you hear that old soldier finally bought it last week?
buy back the farm
idiomThis means a country regains control of its own land or property from foreign owners.
The government plans to buy back the farm from the foreign company.
Can our nation afford to buy back the farm from overseas investors?
buy the farm
idiomThis is a casual way to say someone has died.
My great-grandfather bought the farm in a farming accident.
If you drive that fast, you might buy the farm tonight.
This means buying something without checking its quality or condition first.
Buying a used car online can be a pig in a poke.
She refused to buy a pig in a poke and asked for a test drive.
This means selling or buying something that is worthless or much less valuable than the price paid.
The dealer sold me a pup; the watch stopped after one day.
Don't buy a pup from that street vendor; his goods are fake.
buy — noun
1. an item that has been bought, judged in terms of its value compared with the pri
an item that has been bought, judged in terms of its value compared with the price paid for it.
At only twenty dollars, that wool jacket is a great buy for the winter.
a great / good buy + at + price
The old farmhouse looked cheap, but it turned out to be a really bad buy after the roof fell in.
a bad buy
Marcus says his second-hand piano was the best buy of his life.
the best buy of + period
For families on a tight budget, this small electric kettle is a sensible buy.
- a good buy
- a great buy
- a bad buy
- a sensible buy
- the best buy
- rip-off
very informal; an item priced far above its real value
Grammar Patterns
a + good / great / bad + buy
be a buy + at + price
Usage Note
Almost always appears with a positive or negative adjective ('good', 'great', 'best', 'bad', 'sensible'). Without such an adjective, native speakers usually prefer 'purchase' or just 'thing I bought'.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- buyernounB1
- buyingnounB1
- buyoutnounC1
- buybacknounC1
- rebuyverbC2
- unbuyableadjectiveC2
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
All four verbs can describe taking ownership of something, but they differ in formality and in how clearly money is involved. 'Buy' is the everyday word and is the only one of the four that always implies a payment, usually in money: 'I bought a coffee.' 'Purchase' covers the same idea but sounds formal and is preferred in receipts, contracts, and business reports: 'The company purchased new software.' 'Acquire' is broader and more formal still — it can describe gaining something through any method, including buying, inheriting, or being given: 'She acquired three paintings at the auction.' 'Get' is the most informal and is only clear from context that money was involved: 'I got a new phone yesterday' may or may not mean she paid for it. In casual speech, prefer 'buy' or 'get'; in writing about business or law, prefer 'purchase' or 'acquire'.
Common collocations
Etymology
'Buy' comes from Old English 'bycgan', meaning to pay for, redeem, or get hold of something. It traces back to a shared Proto-Germanic root that also gave Gothic and Old Saxon related verbs, but its origins outside Germanic are unclear. The strong past-tense form 'bought' (Old English 'bohte') has stayed irregular for over a thousand years, while many other Old English verbs were smoothed out into regular '-ed' forms. The modern informal senses — 'believe' (1920s American slang) and 'bribe' — grew naturally out of the core idea: to accept something as your own in exchange for a price, whether that price is money, a favour, or simply trust.