buy
noun
- an advantageous purchase
verb
- obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
- accept as truth
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /baɪ/ / [baɪ] / [bɑj]
noun
Etymology: 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.”
verb
Etymology: 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.
- To obtain (something) in exchange for money or goods.
“Who'd Father buy the car for? He bought it for me, not for you.”
“Buy what thou hast no need of, and ere long thou wilt sell thy necessaries.”
- 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).
“VVhat villaine, doſt ſtrike me? I ſweare by the rood, As I am Iacke Strawe, thou ſhalt buy it with thy blood.”
- To bribe.
“He tried to buy me with gifts, but I wouldn't give up my beliefs.”
“After Bongino reiterated that Epstein killed himself, he was flooded with responses of disbelief. "WHO has bought the both of you?" one X user asked of Bongino and Patel, referencing the Fox News interview.”
- 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!”
“People like to say that dead people look asleep, and maybe she would have bought that under different circumstances.”
- 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.”