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to buy the farm

to buy the farm

5 9.9
To die suddenly, often in an accident or during fighting
  • idiom
  • /baɪ ðə fɑrm/
  • Slang
translation icon : morir
  • He bought the farm, sir, but he took a lot of them with him.
  • almost bought the farm
  • thought I bought the farm

Examples

Synonyms

to die
vsto buy the farm
1.0

To stop living and no longer be alive

is informal and specifically suggests sudden or accidental fatality
to go
vsto buy the farm
5.6

To stop working or start to fail

narrows this to informal speech about sudden accidental or combat deaths
to pass
vsto buy the farm
  • Formal
537 3.8

To stop living

is more informal and commonly used for sudden accidental deaths
to perish
vsto buy the farm
  • Formal
121 6.0

To die suddenly or violently, often in large numbers

is more informal and often used in military or casual speech
to decease
vsto buy the farm
  • Archaic
62 9.9

To stop living, used in formal or old language

is informal and mainly used for sudden fatal outcomes in military contexts
to buy it
vsto buy the farm
  • Informal
57 9.9

To die suddenly from an accident or attack

is often used in military contexts rather than general informal speech
to drop dead
vsto buy the farm
  • Informal
52 8.4

Die suddenly, often from shock or extreme tiredness

is similar but carries a rough, informal military flavour
to croak
vsto buy the farm
  • Slang
32 9.0

To die, said in a casual or joking way

is also informal but more tied to sudden accidental or combat deaths
to expire
vsto buy the farm
  • Formal
31 8.6

To die, often used in medical or formal speech

is informal and carries a sudden, often military accident implication
to exit
vsto buy the farm
  • Formal
10 8.6

To die

is informal and more likely to imply sudden accidental or combat death
to pass away
vsto buy the farm
8 3.8

To die peacefully in a gentle, respectful way

is informal and often implies a sudden violent or accidental end
to kick the bucket
vsto buy the farm
  • Informal
7 8.6

To die, said in casual or joking speech

is similarly informal but often implies sudden accidental death
to conk
vsto buy the farm
  • Slang
6 9.0

To suddenly faint or fall unconscious

leans more toward informal, military usage for sudden fatal outcomes
to give up the ghost
vsto buy the farm
  • Informal
4 8.1

To die or stop working after a long time of problems

focuses on sudden accidental death rather than slow failure or decline
to snuff it
vsto buy the farm
  • Slang
2 9.9

To stop living and not come back

keeps the same bluntness but often appears in military or ironic talk
to pop off
vsto buy the farm
  • Informal
1 9.1

To die, often said as a joke to make it seem less serious

is used more by military speakers to mean sudden accidental death
to lose one's life
vsto buy the farm
4.2

Die because of an accident, violence, or disaster

adds an informal, often military tone and suddenness to that idea
to cash in one's chips
vsto buy the farm
  • Informal
9.6

To die in a light, not serious way

adds a sharper, often military sense of sudden fatality

Antonyms

2.7

Continue to exist after a dangerous or difficult event

Surface Forms

buy the farm infinitive
buying the farm present participle
buys the farm third person singular
bought the farm past participle

Morphology

buy + the + farm

The meaning 'to die' has no transparent or predictable connection to the literal constituents 'buy' + 'the' + 'farm'; purchasing a farm does not compositionally imply death. This is a colloquial/military idiom with historical origins and therefore a B1 learner who knows the individual words would not be able to infer the idiomatic meaning.

Etymology

The idiom buy the farm may come from stories about planes crashing into a farm. If a crash killed the pilot, the company or government would pay or 'buy' the land, so people began using buy the farm to mean 'to die', often in a sudden accident.