buy it
To believe any particular assertion or idea; to support it.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He told a strange story, but I did not buy it.”
“She says she is sick, but I do not buy it.”
“Do you really buy it when he makes those excuses?”
“The salesperson claimed the car was in perfect condition, but I did not buy it.”
“My roommate says he forgot to wash the dishes, but I don't buy it because he has been playing video games all afternoon.”
“The manager thinks a longer lunch break will improve our focus, and the whole team seems to buy it.”
“If you try to tell the teacher that your dog ate your homework, she definitely won't buy it.”
“Although the politician offered a polished explanation for the scandal, the public simply did not buy it.”
disputed origin
The idiom is recorded as early as the 1820s in the sense of dying, which likely predates the variant expression buy the farm. The latter is thought to be an extension of the former. In its sense of accepting a premise or believing a story, the phrase is considered an elliptical allusion to a customer accepting a sales pitch.
- 01
been there, done that, bought the T-shirt
Expresses the speaker's complete familiarity with a situation, with overtones of cynicism or exhaustion.
- 02
buy a dog and bark oneself
To do something that one has hired someone else to do.
- 03
buy a ticket to
Used to indicate that someone is in agreement with an assertion, statement, or suggestion.
- 04
buy and hold
A passive investment strategy where an investor purchases an asset and retains it for many years, rather than trading it frequently.
- 05
buy into
To believe (something, especially something implausible); to accept (a craze, fad, or notion) as valid.
- 06
buy out
to purchase the entire stock or extent of something
- 07
buy straw hats in winter
Of stocks, to buy when both demand and price are low, so as to sell when demand and price are high.
- 08
buy the farm
To die; generally, to die in battle or in a plane crash.
Last updated August 10, 2026