buyout

1 of 2

noun

buy·​out ˈbī-ˌau̇t 

1

: an act or instance of buying out

2

: a financial incentive offered to an employee in exchange for an early retirement or voluntary resignation

buy out

2 of 2

verb

bought out; buying out; buys out

transitive verb

1

: to purchase the share or interest of

2

: to purchase the entire stock-in-trade and the goodwill of (a business)

Examples of buyout in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Federal workers have less than a week left to take Trump's buyout. —Brooke Conrad, Baltimore Sun, 3 Feb. 2025

Shortly after, the Trump administration offered buyouts to nearly all civilian federal workers to quit by Feb. 6. —Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 2 Feb. 2025

Verb

Mars made Wrigley a separate subsidiary and in 2016 bought out Buffett to become the sole owner. —Louis Biscotti, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025

Along with the building code enhancements that are likely to emerge after these fires, change could come through land use innovations such as buying out landowners who don’t want to rebuild, putting restrictions on investors and swapping development rights. —Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing buyout

• leveraged buyout

Legal Definition

buyout

1 of 2 noun

buy·​out ˈbī-ˌau̇t 

: an act or instance of buying out

buy out

2 of 2 transitive verb

1

: to purchase the share or interest of

2

: to purchase the entire tangible and intangible assets of (a business)