purchase
noun · verb
Simple meaning
To get something by paying money for it.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
purchuhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɝtʃəs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The acquisition of title to, or property in, anything for a price; buying for money or its equivalent.
That which is obtained for a price in money or its equivalent.
That which is obtained, got or acquired, in any manner, honestly or dishonestly; property; possession; acquisition.
The mechanical advantage gained by being in a position to use a lever
uncountablealso figuratively
Any mechanical hold or advantage, applied to the raising or removing of heavy bodies, as by a lever, a tackle or capstan.
A price paid for a house or estate, etc. equal to the amount of the rent or income during the stated number of years.
verb
To buy, obtain by payment of a price in money or its equivalent.
To pursue and obtain; to acquire by seeking; to gain, obtain, or acquire.
To obtain by any outlay, as of labor, danger, or sacrifice, etc.
To apply to (anything) a device for obtaining a mechanical advantage; to get a purchase upon, or apply a purchase to; to raise or move by mechanical means.
To constitute the buying power for a purchase, have a trading value.
To put forth effort to obtain anything; to strive; to exert oneself.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The acquisition of title to, or property in, anything for a price; buying for money or its equivalent.
Used this way, purchase is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use purchase
- “The family purchased a new car.”verb
- “They closed the purchase with a handshake.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The act of buying.
A person who buys.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A commercial document used to request someone to supply something in return for payment and providing specifications and quantities.
The price at which something is actually purchased.
An agent who purchases goods or services for another.
The division of a business that is responsible for purchases.
A contract stating the terms of a purchase.
A contract stating the terms of a purchase.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.