buy off

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buy

(bī)

v. bought (bôt), buy·ing, buys

v.tr.

1. To acquire in exchange for money or its equivalent; purchase. See Note at boughten.

2. To be capable of purchasing: "Certainly there are lots of things in life that money won't buy" (Ogden Nash).

3. To acquire by sacrifice, exchange, or trade: wanted to buy love with gifts.

4. To bribe: tried to buy a judge.

5. Informal To accept the truth or feasibility of: The officer didn't buy my lame excuse for speeding.

v.intr.

To purchase something; act as a purchaser.

1. Something bought or for sale; a purchase.

2. An act of purchasing: a drug buy.

3. Something that is underpriced; a bargain.

Phrasal Verbs:

buy down

To pay an upfront fee to reduce (an interest rate) over part or all of the term of a loan.

buy into

1. To acquire a stake or interest in: bought into a risky real estate venture.

2. Informal To believe in, especially wholeheartedly or uncritically: couldn't buy into that brand of conservatism.

buy off

To bribe (an official, for example) in order to secure improper cooperation or gain exemption from a regulation or legal consequence.

buy out

To purchase the entire stock, business rights, or interests of.

buy up

To purchase all that is available of.

Idioms:

buy it Slang

To be killed.

buy the farm Slang

To die, especially suddenly or violently.

buy time

To increase the time available for a specific purpose: "A moderate recovery thus buys time for Congress and the Administration to whittle the deficit" (G. David Wallace).

[Middle English bien, beyen, from Old English bycgan, byg-; akin to Gothic bugjan, from Germanic *bugjanan, of unknown origin.]

buy′a·ble adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

buy off

(tr, adverb) to pay (a person or group) to drop a charge, end opposition, relinquish a claim, etc

a purchase

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb

buy off - pay someone with influence in order to receive a favor

pay off

crime, criminal offence, criminal offense, law-breaking, offense, offence - (criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act; "a long record of crimes"

bribe, grease one's palms, buy, corrupt - make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence; "This judge can be bought"

Translations

w>buy off

vt sep (inf: = bribe) → kaufen (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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References in classic literature ?

With money, however, one may buy off the others before the game.

"But how can I buy off the others in the game without money?" asked Turan.

View in context

They don't care for their contempt, and then they use their dishonest gains to buy off the contempt they have deserved."

View in context

It seems they found means to bribe or buy off some of those who were expected to come in against them, and they wanted evidence for some time to convict them.

View in context

Clare was good-natured and self-indulgent, and sought to buy off with presents and flatteries; and when Marie became mother to a beautiful daughter, he really felt awakened, for a time, to something like tenderness.

View in context

Don't buy off untrusted ticket outlets or strangers - you won't be able to enter the festival."

Police warning over fake festival tickets

SCROOGE-like Chancellor Philip Hammond should think again if he tries to buy off workers with a few extra pennies after years of squeezing wages.

Waging war; VOICE OF THE

To me it's a one-sided affair anyway when we buy off them more than they buy off us, and the money they have off us is mostly wasted.

Remain side lost, Mr Farron. Get over it; LETTERS&NOSTALGIA

"When people buy off plan, they can see their home and choose the accessories for it and they can see it being built from the outside but they cannot get on to the site to see inside as it is built because it is too dangerous.

Take a look and you're virtually there; Cruden's hi-tech headset gives guided tour of property for househunters buying off plan

Buy off plan now and personalise your home by choosing from a range of high quality fixtures and fittings

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AT SAINT GEORGE

That's probably less than what Teva might have had to pay if the case went to trial as scheduled on June 1, but it might deter other companies from trying to buy off the competition.