buy.
To obtain (something) in exchange for money or goods.
Meaning & usage
To obtain (something) in exchange for money or goods.
Who'd Father buy the car for? He bought it for me, not for you.
To obtain, especially by some sacrifice.
I've bought material comfort by foregoing my dreams.
You just bought yourself an assault charge!
To suffer consequences for (something) through being deprived of something; to pay for (something one has done).
To bribe.
He tried to buy me with gifts, but I wouldn't give up my beliefs.
To be equivalent to in value.
The dollar doesn't buy as much as it used to.
to accept as true; to believe
I'm not going to buy your stupid excuses anymore!
To make a purchase or purchases, to treat (for a drink, meal or gift)
She buys for Federated.
Let's go out for dinner. I'm buying.
To make a bluff, usually a large one.
Smith tried to buy the pot on the river with a huge bluff.
Where this word comes from
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.
Something which is bought; a purchase.
At only $30, the second-hand kitchen table was a great buy.
Where this word comes from
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.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.