verb / noun
buy
BYE/baɪ/
To obtain something in return for payment.
She buys a loaf, handing coins to the baker as he passes it over.
Etymology
Old English bycgan already meant acquiring something by payment or an exchange of equal value. The modern money-payment sense continues that central idea of giving value to gain possession.
In context
you would have to save every month, put money aside, and when you had, I don't know, in California when you had the $300,000 needed to buy a little house, um you could buy it.
More examples
- This sturdy used bicycle was a good buy.
- I do not buy his explanation for the missing records.
- The temporary repair bought us time to find a replacement.
Forms
buy · buys · bought · buying
buyer noun — Someone who obtains something in return for payment.
Similar words
- purchase
- The more formal equivalent for obtaining something through payment.