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.

People bought what celebrities bought; they became interested in what celebrities found interesting.

From Literature

The chart of the past few weeks traces a straight line upward, which means that many investors who wanted more exposure to the sector have already bought in.

From Barron's

It is also expected to spur a jump in refinance applications for homeowners who bought in recent years when rates were higher.

From The Wall Street Journal

On the expired MOT certificate, he said he bought the car in March and "wrongly assumed" it had a test done at the point of purchase.

From BBC

"But I bought some the day before yesterday for 19m rials a kilo - more than double. I bought Iranian rice in the late summer for 1.7m rials a kilo, now it's 3.8m."

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.