buy up

verb

bought up; buying up; buys up

transitive verb

1
: to buy freely or extensively
2
: to buy the entire available supply of

Examples of buy up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
California Forever first began buying up land in 2017 with the hopes of building a new city in the outer Bay Area. — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 26 Aug. 2026 Kura Oncology — The biotech stock climbed almost 10% after CEO Troy Wilson disclosed buying up 100,000 shares of common stock in a regulatory filing . — Sarah Min, CNBC, 25 Aug. 2026 Now, with companies buying up the policies and never missing a payment, insurance companies were paying out more death benefits. — Vito Emanuel, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026 Won’t that allow brokers to buy up thousands of tickets and price-gouge? — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for buy up

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of buy up was circa 1534

Rhymes for buy up

See All Rhymes for buy up

Browse Nearby Words

buy time
buy up
Buzain
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Buy up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buy%20up. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All