Meaning & use
purchase
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitiveformalbusiness
To buy something, especially by paying money for goods or services.
Grammar: Takes an object: purchase a ticket; more formal than buy in everyday speech.
Patterns
- purchase something
- purchase something for someone
- purchase something from somewhere
We purchased tickets online before the show sold out.
The company purchased new laptops for the design team.
She purchased the painting from a local gallery.
noununcountable
A firm grip, hold, or position that lets someone push, pull, or stand without slipping.
Grammar: Usually uncountable in this sense: get purchase on a rock, not a purchase of a rock.
Patterns
- get purchase on something
- lose purchase
- gain purchase
His boots found little purchase on the icy steps.
She wedged her foot under the door to gain purchase.
The climber lost purchase and slid a short distance.
nouncountable or uncountableformal
The act of buying something, or something that has been bought.
Grammar: Countable for one item bought: a major purchase; uncountable for the activity: proof of purchase.
Patterns
- make a purchase
- proof of purchase
- cancel a purchase
Keep the receipt as proof of purchase.
A new phone is a major purchase for many students.
The store refunds most online purchases within 30 days.
Word forms
| third person singular | purchases |
|---|---|
| past tense | purchased |
| past participle | purchased |
| -ing form | purchasing |
| plural | purchases |
Common combinations
- purchase online
- More people purchase online during holiday sales.
- purchase price
- The purchase price did not include delivery.
- bulk purchase
- A bulk purchase lowered the cost per notebook.
- purchase order
- Send the supplier a purchase order before shipping.
Synonyms and how they differ
- buy
- Buy is the everyday word; purchase sounds more formal and is common in shops, contracts, and records.
- acquire
- Acquire can mean obtain in any way, including gradually, while purchase specifically implies paying money.
Opposites
Word family
- purchaser noun
- a person or organization that buys something.
- purchasing noun
- the activity or department responsible for buying goods.
Commonly confused: purchase or perch?
purchase vs perch
Purchase means buy or grip; perch means sit or rest on something, or a fish, and is not related.
Practice
Choose the most natural sentence for a formal business email.
Choose one answer.
Purchase takes a direct object: purchase the software. Buyed is not a standard past form, and purchase does not take on or to before the object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “purchase”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.