English Reference
Idiom idiom

buy out


to purchase the entire stock or extent of something

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

The company wants to buy out the smaller business.

CONTEXTUAL

After the founder retired, the board decided to buy out his remaining shares to gain full control.

COMPLEX

The conglomerate sought to buy out its primary competitor, effectively consolidating its influence over the entire regional market.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    been there, done that, bought the T-shirt

    Expresses the speaker's complete familiarity with a situation, with overtones of cynicism or exhaustion.

  2. 02

    buy a dog and bark oneself

    To do something that one has hired someone else to do.

  3. 03

    buy a ticket to

    Used to indicate that someone is in agreement with an assertion, statement, or suggestion.

  4. 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.

  5. 05

    buy into

    To believe (something, especially something implausible); to accept (a craze, fad, or notion) as valid.

  6. 06

    buy it

    To believe any particular assertion or idea; to support it.

  7. 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.

  8. 08

    buy the farm

    To die; generally, to die in battle or in a plane crash.

Last updated August 10, 2026