Bought Definition & Meaning

American

British

Idioms

Other Word Forms

Etymology

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Examples

Synonyms bought American [bawt] / bɔt /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of buy.

adjective

1. South Midland and Southern U.S. store-bought.

bought British / bɔːt /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of buy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

1. purchased from a shop; not homemade

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 bought Idioms

1. see under buy.

Other Word Forms

• unbought adjective
• well-bought adjective

Etymology

Origin of bought

First recorded before 900, for the adjective for an earlier sense

Compare meaning

How does bought compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• bought vs. brought

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We had already spent the morning at an auction, where she bought up exotic trinkets to use in her charade as Madam L. L. Lucille.

From Literature

The United Arab Emirates sold gold, smartphones and corn to Iran, and mainly bought hydrocarbons from it, according to WTO data.

From Barron's

Leerink’s Mayo says new management is doing a thorough cleanup, divesting assets the company bought over the years that no longer make sense to hold.

From The Wall Street Journal

The stock market closed at a fresh record high on Monday as investors bought the dip that was sparked by a new attack on the Federal Reserve’s independence.

From MarketWatch

Approval for the London embassy has long been a priority for China's government, which bought the site for £255m in 2018.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.