repurchase

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to buy something again or buy back something that was previously sold

   The merchant used the proceeds to repurchase a fresh supply of British goods.

2. 2
   noun

   the act of buying something back, especially a company's purchase of its own shares

   The board approved a share repurchase after the company reported surplus cash.

Formed from re-, 'again or back,' + purchase. Purchase came through Anglo-French purchacer, originally 'to pursue or seek to obtain,' from a prefix meaning 'forward' + chacier, 'to chase.' Its sense narrowed from obtaining generally to buying, making repurchase literally 'buy again or back.'

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