Meaning & use

purchase

verb·Academic

To buy something.

See it in a sentence

They purchased a small house on the edge of town last spring.

The museum purchased the painting at auction for a record price.

A note on using this word

Purchase is more formal than buy and is common in business, legal, and written contexts rather than casual speech.

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Another way to use it

2. noun

A firm grip or footing, or leverage on something.

Her boots finally found purchase on the icy slope.

Make it your own

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