INDEX:
1. to buy something
2. to buy a lot of something
3. to buy something for someone else
4. to go to shops in order to buy things
5. someone who buys goods or services
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ SELL
see also
↑ PAY
↑ COST
↑ SPEND MONEY OR TIME
↑ MONEY
↑ SHOP/STORE
↑ EXPENSIVE
↑ CHEAP
◆◆◆
1. to buy something
▷ buy /baɪ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to pay money for something so that you can own it :
▪ I bought a new dress today at Macy’s.
▪ John makes his living buying and selling used cars.
▪ The painting was bought by a museum in New York.
buy somebody something
▪ Keith was going to buy me a ring, but now he says he wants to buy me a watch instead.
buy something for somebody
▪ If you don’t have enough money for the pen, I’ll buy it for you.
buy something from somebody
▪ I wouldn’t buy anything from him - I don’t trust him.
buy something for $10/£200 etc
▪ The ranch, which was originally bought for $20,000, is now valued at over $2 million.
▷ get /get/ [transitive verb not in passive] especially spoken
to buy something, especially ordinary things such as food, clothes, or things for your house :
▪ Let me get the drinks. It’s my turn to pay.
▪ Did you remember to get the bread?
get somebody something
▪ Guess what he got her for her birthday - an iron!
get something for somebody
▪ I’m going to get one of those video games for Hillary.
get something for £20/$50 etc
▪ What do you think of this leather jacket? I got it for $40 on sale.
▷ purchase /ˈpɜːʳtʃɪs, ˈpɜːʳtʃəs/ [transitive verb] formal
to buy something - used in business and legal contracts :
▪ Foreign investors are not permitted to purchase land.
▪ If this product does not give complete satisfaction, please return it to the manufacturer stating when and where it was purchased.
purchase [uncountable noun]
purchase of
▪ The loan was supposed to be used for the purchase of a house.
▷ snap up /ˌsnæp ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to buy something immediately, especially because it is very cheap or you want it very much, and you are worried that someone else might buy it first :
snap up something
▪ Readers have snapped up nearly 200,000 copies of the book.
▪ The best bargains tend to be snapped up immediately.
snap something up
▪ If you see one for under $100, snap it up!
▷ pick up /ˌpɪk ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to buy something that you have found by chance, especially something that is unusually cheap :
pick up something
▪ He’s hoping to pick up a few bargains at the sales.
▪ It’s just a little thing I picked up when I was in Kathmandu.
pick something up
▪ That picture? Oh, I picked it up last week at a little shop downtown.
▷ splash out on British [transitive phrasal verb not in passive] splurge (on something) American [intransitive verb] /ˌsplæʃ ˈaʊt ɒn, ˈsplɜːʳdʒ ɒn/
to buy something you want such as an expensive meal, dress etc, which you would not usually buy because it is too expensive :
▪ We splashed out on a bottle of champagne to celebrate her promotion.
▪ Let’s splurge and have the steak.
▷ acquire /əˈkwaɪəʳ/ [transitive verb] formal
to become the owner of something such as land, a company, or a valuable object :
▪ In 1998 the business was acquired by a Dutch company.
▪ The statue was acquired at great expense by the City Corporation.
▪ Robinson spent $20 million to acquire the symphony hall.
acquisition /ˌækwɪˈzɪʃ ə n, ˌækwəˈzɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
acquire of
▪ The National Gallery has set aside £10 million for the acquisition of the painting.
2. to buy a lot of something
▷ buy a lot of/lots of /ˌbaɪ ə ˈlɒt ɒv, ˈlɒts ɒvǁ-ˈlɑːt-/ [verb phrase]
▪ You’ve been buying a lot of clothes recently. Have you decided to change your image?
▪ We’ve bought lots of food and drink, so it should be a really good party.
▷ stock up /ˌstɒk ˈʌpǁˌstɑːk-/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to buy a large quantity of something you use regularly because you may not be able to buy it later, or because you are planning to use more of it than usual :
▪ The supermarkets are full of people stocking up for the New Year’s holiday.
▪ We might as well stock up while we’re here - it’ll save us having to come back.
stock up on
▪ We always stock up on cheap cigarettes when we go to Holland.
▷ buy (something) in bulk /ˌbaɪ something ɪn ˈbʌlk/ [verb phrase]
to buy a large quantity of something, especially because it is cheaper to buy a lot of it at one time :
▪ We always buy in bulk. It is so much more economical.
▪ Today more shoppers are using coupons and buying items in bulk.
bulk buying
buying goods in large quantities
▪ Bulk buying has enabled the company to cut costs.
▷ wholesale /ˈhəʊlseɪl/ [adverb]
if you buy something wholesale, you buy a large quantity of it directly from the company that makes it :
▪ Mark buys the earrings wholesale and then sells them for a profit.
▪ Let’s see if we can get them wholesale and save ourselves a few dollars.
wholesale [adjective]
▪ The shopkeeper buys his fruit and vegetables at wholesale prices.
▷ buy up /ˌbaɪ ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to quickly buy all of something such as land, tickets, food etc, when there is only a limited amount available :
buy up something
▪ In the last five years development agencies have bought up almost all the land in the area.
buy something up
▪ There weren’t any good seats left for the game - some big company had bought them all up.
▷ import /ɪmˈpɔːʳt/ [transitive verb]
to buy goods from another country to be sold, used etc in your country, especially in large quantities :
▪ The United States has to import some of its oil.
import something from something
▪ Most of the wines served in this restaurant are imported from France.
imports /ˈɪmpɔːʳts/ [plural noun]
▪ In 1999 our imports goods that were imported greatly exceeded exports.
▷ buy in /ˌbaɪ ˈɪn/ [transitive phrasal verb] British
to buy enough of something to last for a long time, for example because it may be difficult to buy later :
buy in something
▪ People had to buy in candles during the electricity strike.
buy something in
▪ Villagers join together to buy enough food in to last throughout the winter.
3. to buy something for someone else
▷ treat /ˈtriːt/ [transitive verb]
to buy something such as a meal for someone because you like them or you want to celebrate something :
▪ As it’s your birthday, I thought I’d treat you.
treat somebody to something
▪ Glen treated Cathy to dinner at one of the best restaurants in town.
my treat /ˌmaɪ ˈtriːt/ spoken
say this when you are offering to pay for someone’s meal or drinks :
▪ Let’s all go to a movie - my treat.
▷ something is on me/John etc / something ɪz ɒn ˈmiː/ [verb phrase] spoken
use this to say that you will pay for drinks, food etc or that a particular person will pay for them :
▪ Don’t worry about the price - this meal’s on me.
be on the house
the bar or restaurant you are in will pay for your meal, drinks etc
▪ The manager apologized and told us our drinks would be on the house for the rest of the evening.
▷ buy/get a round /ˌbaɪ, ˌget ə ˈraʊnd/ [verb phrase]
to buy a drink for everyone in the group that you are with, in a place which sells alcoholic drinks :
▪ I’ll get this round. What would you like?
▪ Jack always leaves when it’s his turn to buy a round.
4. to go to shops in order to buy things
▷ go shopping /ˌgəʊ ˈʃɒpɪŋǁ-ˈʃɑː-/ [verb phrase]
to go to shops to look at and buy things :
▪ Let’s meet in town. We can have lunch and go shopping.
▪ I’m going shopping now. Do you want anything?
▷ do the shopping /ˌduː ðə ˈʃɒpɪŋǁ-ˈʃɑː-/ [verb phrase]
to go to shops in order to buy the things that you need regularly such as food :
▪ On Saturdays we usually do the shopping and clean the house.
▪ She sent her husband out to do the week’s shopping.
do my/your etc shopping
▪ I did all my shopping yesterday.
grocery shopping
American shopping for food
▪ We need to go grocery shopping - do you have the check book?
▷ go to the shops British go to the store American /ˌgəʊ tə ðə ˈʃɒps ǁ-ˈʃɑːps, ˌgəʊ tə ðə ˈstɔːʳ/ [verb phrase]
to go out to the local shop or shops in order to buy something, especially the things that you need regularly such as food :
▪ ‘Where’s Julie?’ ‘She’s gone to the shops.’
▪ If you go to the store, could you get some milk?
▪ Mr Parker, my next-door neighbour, is getting old and I sometimes go to the shops for him.
▷ shop /ʃɒpǁʃɑːp/ [intransitive verb not in progressive]
to regularly use a particular shop, especially to buy things that you need regularly such as food :
shop at/in
▪ I usually shop at Safeway. It’s just around the corner from my house.
▪ When she moved here, she had never shopped in a supermarket before.
▷ shop around /ˌʃɒp əˈraʊndǁˌʃɑːp-/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to go to several different shops comparing goods and their prices before deciding which ones to buy :
▪ If you shop around you could probably get the camera a lot cheaper.
shop around for
▪ I spent a couple of weeks shopping around for the lowest insurance rates.
▷ window shopping /ˈwɪndəʊ ˌʃɒpɪŋǁ-ˌʃɑːp-/ [uncountable noun]
when you look at things in shop windows without intending to buy anything :
▪ We spent the morning window shopping at all the antique stores.
5. someone who buys goods or services
▷ customer /ˈkʌstəməʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who buys goods from a particular shop, restaurant, or company :
▪ We don’t get many customers on Mondays - Saturday is our busiest day.
▪ The barman was serving the last customer of the evening.
▪ Ford has launched a big sales campaign in an effort to bring in new customers.
biggest customer
the customer who buys the most goods
▪ The Defense Department is one of Lockheed’s biggest regular customers.
▷ shoppers /ˈʃɒpəʳzǁˈʃɑːp-/ [plural noun]
the people in a shop or town who are buying things :
▪ The streets were crowded with Christmas shoppers.
▷ client /ˈklaɪənt/ [countable noun]
someone who pays for services or advice from a professional person or organization :
▪ Mr Langston normally meets with clients in the afternoon.
▪ Elkins assured the judge that neither of his clients had a criminal record.
▪ The firm is one of our oldest clients - we don’t want to lose them.
▷ buyer /ˈbaɪəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who buys something expensive such as a house, company, or painting, usually from another person, not a shop or company :
▪ We couldn’t find a buyer for our house, so we weren’t able to move after all.
▪ They’ve had a lot of enquiries about the company - there’s no shortage of potential buyers.
▷ consumers /kənˈsjuːməʳzǁ-ˈsuː-/ [countable noun]
someone who buys and uses goods and services - use this especially to talk about people who buy things in general :
▪ Consumers are demanding more environmentally friendly products.
▪ The consumer is interested in high quality goods, not just low prices.
▷ clientele /ˌkliːənˈtelǁˌklaɪənˈtel, ˌkliː-/ []
the people who regularly use a particular shop, restaurant etc, or the services of a professional person :
▪ The hotel’s clientele includes diplomats and Hollywood celebrities.
▪ Madame Zara caters for a very select clientele.
▷ market /ˈmɑːʳkɪt, ˈmɑːʳkət/ [singular noun]
the number of people who want to buy a product, or the type of people who want to buy it :
▪ The magazine is aimed at the youth market.
▪ Without research we can’t be sure of the size of our market or even who our market is.
market for
▪ The market for Internet-based products has grown dramatically in recent years.