How to spell purchase

hear itpur·chase/'pɜrʧəs/verbLong vowels

What it means: To buy something in exchange for money.

In a sentence: Mom went to the store to purchase some apples.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as purchace or perchase.

Same family: purchase (verb, to buy), purchasing, purchasable, lever, grip. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: In this mechanical sense, "purchase" comes from a Middle English meaning of "to exert effort" or "to obtain by effort," which itself traces back to Old French *pourchacier*, "to seek for" or "to pursue." Over time, the word developed the technical meaning of a firm hold or mechanical advantage, especially when using tools like levers or winches.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

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