What does "buy" mean?

1. (to purchase) to get something by giving money for it. 2. (to believe) to believe that an idea or an excuse is true. 3. (to bribe) to give someone money so they will do something dishonest for you. 4. (a purchase) something that you have bought, especially if it was a good price.

buy — meaning, definition & examples

Q: Is it correct to say "I bought it to the shop."?

No — say "I bought it at the shop.". Use 'at' or 'from' for the location of a purchase. 'To' suggests movement toward a place.

Word

Infinitive

buy

Past

bought

Past participle

bought

01to purchase

A1 · Beginner

v. to get something by giving money for it.

v. to acquire possession of something by paying a price in money or its equivalent.

“I need to buy some milk and bread on my way home.”

“The company plans to buy several smaller competitors this year to expand its market share in the region.”

Usage

Often used ditransitively: you can buy someone something or buy something for someone.

Pitfall

I bought it to the shop.

I bought it at the shop.

Use 'at' or 'from' for the location of a purchase. 'To' suggests movement toward a place.

Synonyms

purchase acquire procure

Antonyms

sell vend

02to believe

B2 · Upper Intermediate Informal

v. to believe that an idea or an excuse is true.

v. to accept the truth or validity of a statement, excuse, or theory.

“He said he was late because of a dragon, but I didn't buy it.”

“The jury didn't buy the defendant's explanation for his presence at the scene, especially given the forensic evidence presented by the prosecution.”

Synonyms

believe accept swallow

Antonyms

reject doubt

03to bribe

C1 · Advanced Formal

v. to give someone money so they will do something dishonest for you.

v. to influence a person's actions or decisions by means of a bribe.

“The criminal tried to buy the witness's silence with a large bag of cash.”

“The investigation revealed that the corporation had attempted to buy the votes of several local officials to secure the building permit.”

Synonyms

bribe corrupt pay off

04a purchase

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. something that you have bought, especially if it was a good price.

n. an instance of buying or the item that has been purchased; often used to describe the value of the transaction.

“That new laptop was a great buy because it was fifty percent off.”

“The analyst described the stock as a strong buy, citing the company's robust quarterly earnings and innovative product pipeline.”

Synonyms

purchase bargain acquisition

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “buy” in context.

01. buy product

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.

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

VERB

buy(A1)

NOUN

buyer(A2)

buying(A1)

aby buy in buy off purchaser