buy
English
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 *bʰeugʰ- (“to take away, deliver”).
Cognate with Scots by (“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.
Pronunciation
- enPR: bī, IPA(key): /baɪ/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪ
- Homophones: bi, bye, by
Verb
buy (third-person singular simple present buys, present participle buying, simple past bought, past participle bought or (rare, dialectal) boughten)
- (transitive, ditransitive) To obtain (something) in exchange for money or goods.
- I'm going to buy my father something nice for his birthday.
- 1793, Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography
- Buy what thou hast no need of, and ere long thou wilt sell thy necessaries.
- (transitive, ditransitive) To obtain, especially by some sacrifice.
- I've bought material comfort by foregoing my dreams.
- You just bought yourself an assault charge!
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Proverbs 23:23:
- Buy the truth and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
- (transitive, archaic) To suffer consequences for (something) through being deprived of something; to pay for (something one has done).
- 1593, anonymous, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], Act I:
- VVhat villaine, doſt ſtrike me? I ſweare by the rood,
As I am Iacke Strawe, thou ſhalt buy it with thy blood.
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- (transitive) To bribe.
- He tried to buy me with gifts, but I wouldn't give up my beliefs.
- (transitive) To be equivalent to in value.
- The dollar doesn't buy as much as it used to.
- (transitive, informal) to accept as true; to believe
- 2020, Akwaeke Emezi, The Death of Vivek Oji, Faber & Faber Ltd, page 201:
- People like to say that dead people look asleep, and maybe she would have bought that under different circumstances.
- I'm not going to buy your stupid excuses anymore!
-
- (intransitive) 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.
- (poker slang, transitive) To make a bluff, usually a large one.
- Smith tried to buy the pot on the river with a huge bluff
Alternative forms
- buie (archaic)
Synonyms
- (obtain in exchange for money): cheap (obsolete), purchase
- (accept as true): accept, believe, swallow (informal), take on
- ((intransitive) make a purchase): make a buy
Antonyms
- (obtain in exchange for money): cheap (obsolete), sell, vend
- (accept as true): disbelieve, reject, pitch
Derived terms
Terms derived from buy (verb)
- bought and paid for
- bought priesthood
- bring-and-buy
- bring-and-buy sale
- buyable
- buy a dog and bark oneself
- buy and pay for
- buy a pup
- buy-back
- buy back
- buy-down
- buyer
- buy in
- buy-in
- buying guide
- buying guide
- buying power
- buying power
- buying temperature
- buying temperature
- buy into
- buy it
- buy low, sell high
- buy-off
- buy off
- buy off on
- buy-out
- buy out
- buy over
- buy side
- buy someone off
- buy someone out
- buy straw hats in winter
- buy the dip
- buy the dips
- buy the farm
- buy the rabbit
- buy the rack
- buy time
- buy to let
- buy-to-let
- buy up
- buy when it snows and sell when it goes
- buy when it snows, sell when it goes
- buy wolf tickets
- buy woof tickets
- buy yourself a hat
- can I buy you a drink
- collective buying
- collective buying
- don't buy green bananas
- group buying
- group buying
- I don't want to buy anything
- impulse buy
- leveraged buy-out
- money can't buy happiness
- must-buy
- outbuy
- panic-bought
- panic-buy
- rebuy
- shop-bought
- store-bought
- that and a nickel will buy you a cup of coffee
- vote buying
- vote buying
- why buy a book when you can join a library
- why buy a book when you can join the library
- why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free
Related terms
- aby
Descendants
- Sranan Tongo: bai
- Tok Pisin: baim
Translations
to obtain something with money
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to accept as true
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Noun
buy (plural buys)
- Something which is bought; a purchase.
- At only $30, the second-hand kitchen table was a great buy.
Antonyms
- sale
Derived terms
- buydown
- buyout
- buyrate
- impulse buy
Translations
purchase — see purchase
References
- buy in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- buy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Anagrams
- BYU
Chinese
Etymology
From English buy.
Pronunciation
Verb
buy
- (Hong Kong Cantonese) to accept (an idea)
Tatar
Noun
buy
- length
Wolof
Etymology
Related to guy (“baobab tree”).
Noun
buy (definite form buy bi)
- baobab fruit
- sweet drink made of this fruit by adding water, sugar, milk, and other ingredients