buy out
1. verb To buy someone's shares or other financial interests in a company or joint venture, thus releasing them from it. A noun or pronoun can be used between "buy" and "out." Because I bought out my sister, I now get all of the profit from the store. I don't want to continue this business partnership with Ted, but I just don't have the money to buy him out. As for selling your parent' house, are you going to split the profits with your siblings, or are you planning to buy them out?
2. verb To pay someone an agreed-upon amount in exchange for their premature release from a contract. A noun or pronoun can be used between "buy" and "out." When no other teams were interested in trading for that player, we decided to buy him out. With how injury-prone that pitcher has been, I bet the Orioles just buy him out once the season's over. I know he was the best free agent on the market last year, but the guy's been a total bust. Management would be better off just buying him out and moving on.
3. verb To purchase something as its sole owner. A noun or pronoun can be used between "buy" and "out." I've always loved that little music club, so I bought it out when the owner was ready to pursue other ventures. If they buy out our little company, will they jettison our staff? Other CEOs have been circling for a while now—I know they're just waiting to buy us out.
4. verb To purchase all of a particular item or thing that is available. A noun or pronoun can be used between "buy" and "out." That toy is so popular that it's been bought out all over town! We need as many balloons for the party as we can get, so just buy them out at the store. Whenever there's a threat of snow in the forecast, you just know that bread, eggs, and milk will all be bought out at the grocery store.
5. noun The act of paying one an agreed-upon amount in exchange for one's premature release from a contract. In this usage, the phrase is often written as one word ("buyout"). When no other teams were interested in trading for that player, we decided to offer him a buyout. The buyout is much less than the contract he originally signed 10 years ago, when he was a star in the prime of his career. The buyout was worth $9 billion to the company, so, really, it was an offer we couldn't refuse.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
buy someone or something out
to purchase full ownership of something from someone or a group. We liked the company, so we borrowed a lot of money and bought it out. Carl bought out the owners of the company.
buy something out
to buy all that is available of a particular item. The kids came in and bought all our bubble gum out. They bought out the bubble gum in a single hour.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
buy out
Purchase the entire stock, business rights, or interests of a concern. For example, A rival store owner offered to buy out my grandfather, but he refused, [Late 1200s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.