Meaning of buy up | Babel Free

Definitions

1. To buy the whole of; to purchase the entire stock of something.
   idiomatic, transitive
2. To buy whatever is available of something.
   idiomatic, transitive
3. To buy off; to pay in blackmail money or similar.
   idiomatic, transitive

Equivalents

Examples

“The marshland was bought up by a housing company.”

“And when Zootopia needs to expand⟳, rich landowners like⟳ the feline Milton Lynxley (David Strathairn) are more than happy to buy⟳ up these neighborhoods, displace the animals that live⟳ there, and erase their history in the process⟳.”

“According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand⟳ extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay⟳ up rather than face⟳ the costs of a legal battle.”

“Sir Leicester Dedlock, Baronet, it's for you to consider⟳ whether or not to buy⟳ this up. I should recommend⟳, on the whole, it's being bought up myself; and I think⟳ it may be bought pretty cheap.”

CEFR level