# bought

Pronunciation: say "BAWT" US /bɔt/, UK /bɔːt/

## Verb

1. Simple past and past participle of buy. — simple past and past participle of buy.
   - Simple: Simple past and past participle of buy. Use this form for buying that already happened.
   - _He bought the house after years of saving._
   - _The company bought its main competitor last spring._

## Adjective

2. Compromised by money from special interests, and therefore corrupt. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Controlled in secret by people who pay for favors, and so not honest.
   - _Critics claimed the senator was bought and would never vote against the oil lobby._
   - _Everyone in town knew the bought judge would rule for the developer._

## Noun

3. A place where a river, a mountain chain, or another landform curves or bends. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A curve or bend in a river, a range of hills, or another land feature.
   - _A village sat in the sheltered bought where the stream doubled back on itself._
   - _The old map marked every bought along the winding coastline._
4. A curved or hollow place on the body of a person or animal, such as the inside of the elbow. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A bend or hollow part of a person's or animal's body.
   - _She tucked the letter into the bought of her elbow as she walked._
   - _The hound lay curled, its nose resting in the bought of its own flank._
5. A fold, bend, or coil in a tail, a snake's body, or a similar curving part. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A fold, bend, or coil in a tail or a snake's body.
6. A curved or bent part of something, or an inward angle. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A bend, curve, or hollow angle in something.
   - _The carpenter cut a gentle bought into the edge of the railing._
   - _Dust gathered in the bought of the old stone staircase._
7. The part of a sling that holds the stone before it is thrown. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The pouch of a sling that holds the stone.
   - _He fitted a heavy pebble into the bought and began to whirl the cords._
   - _The leather bought had stretched too loose to grip a round stone._

## Origin

This comes from Middle English bought (also bowght, bouȝt), probably an alteration of bight ("bend, bight") shaped by bowen, buwen, buȝen ("to bow, bend"). It is related to Scots boucht, bucht, bout ("bend").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bought (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).