–verb (used with object)

1.	to acquire the possession of, or the right to, by paying or promising to pay an equivalent, esp. in money; purchase.

2.	to acquire by exchange or concession: to buy favor with flattery.

3.	to hire or obtain the services of: The Yankees bought a new center fielder.

4.	to bribe: Most public officials cannot be bought.

5.	to be the monetary or purchasing equivalent of: Ten dollars buys less than it used to.

6.	Chiefly Theology. to redeem; ransom.

7.	Cards. to draw or be dealt (a card): He bought an a cce ce.

8.	Informal. a. to accept or believe: I don't buy that explanation. b. to be deceived by: He bought the whole story.

–verb (used without object)

9.	to be or become a purchaser.

–noun

10.	an act or instance of buying.

11.	something bought or to be bought; purchase: That coat was a sensible buy.

12.	a bargain: The couch was a real buy.

—Verb phrases

13.	buy down, to lower or reduce (the mortgage interest rate) by means of a buy-down.

14.	buy in, a. to buy a supply of; accumulate a stock of. b. to buy back one's own possession at an auction. c. to undertake a buy-in. Also, buy into.

15.	buy into, to purchase a share, interest, or membership in: They tried to buy into the club but were not accepted.

16.	buy off, to get rid of (a claim, opposition, etc.) by payment; purchase the noninterference of; bribe: The corrupt official bought off those who might expose him.

17.	buy out, to secure all of (an owner or partner's) share or interest in an enterprise: She bought out an established pharmacist and is doing very well.

18.	buy up, to buy as much as one can of something or as much as is offered for sale: He bought up the last of the strawberries at the fruit market.

—Idiom

19.	buy it, Slang. to get killed: He bought it at Dunkirk.

–adjective

1.	operating under the direct control of, or connected to, a main computer.

2.	connected by computer to one or more other computers or networks, as through a commercial electronic information service or the Internet.

3.	of or denoting a business that transmits electronic information over telecommunications lines: an on-line bookstore.

4.	available or operating on a computer or computer network: an on-line dictionary.

5.	by means of or using a computer: on-line shopping.

6.	Radio. (of a network) supplying affiliated stations with all or a substantial part of their programming.

7.	Television. of or pertaining to the final editing of a videotaped program.

8.	done or accomplished while in operation or active service: on-line maintenance.

9.	located on major routes or rail lines: on-line industries.

–adverb

10.	with or through a computer, esp. over a network.