Definition

Verb: - To purchase all or a controlling amount of a particular item, asset, or company, often with the intention of gaining control or removing it from the market.

Usage

This verb is typically used in business, finance, and economic contexts. It describes an aggressive purchasing action where the buyer aims to acquire the entire available supply or a majority stake. It is often transitive and followed by a direct object (e.g., buy up shares, buy up land).

Examples

• Verb:
  • The investment firm decided to buy up all the available stock.
  • Developers are buying up properties in the downtown area.
  • To gain a monopoly, the company tried to buy up its competitors.

Advanced Usage

• "to be bought up": (Passive voice) to be completely purchased.
  • All the tickets for the concert were bought up within minutes.
• Used to describe speculative or strategic acquisition.
  • Investors bought up the currency, anticipating a rise in its value.

Variants and Related Words

• Buyout (n): The purchase of a controlling share in a company.
  • The management team executed a leveraged buyout.
• Acquire (v): To buy or obtain an asset or object. (A more general synonym.)

Synonyms

• Purchase entirely: To buy the whole quantity of something.
• Acquire a controlling interest in: To buy enough of a company to control it.
• Corner the market in: To gain control over the supply of a commodity.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Buy out: To purchase someone's share of a business so they leave it.
  • His partners bought him out of the company.
• Buy into: To purchase a share or interest in a business or idea.
  • She bought into the startup early on.

Related Idioms

• To buy up the whole lot: To purchase every single item available.
  • At the yard sale, one collector bought up the whole lot of vintage records.

Verb

1. take over ownership of; of corporations and companies