purchase

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Something that you have bought.

   He was very pleased with his latest purchase.

2. 2
   noun

   The act of buying something.

   They offer a free drink with the purchase of a meal.

3. 3
   noun

   A firm hold or grip that lets you move or lift something.

   It is hard to get any purchase on a nail without a hammer.

From Middle English purchasen, from Anglo-Norman purchacer (“seek to obtain”) from pur- (from Latin pro-) + chac(i)er (“to chase, pursue”). Compare Old French porchacier (“to follow, to chase”), which has given French pourchasser (“to chase without relent”).

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