Definition of "purchasing"

purchasing

verb
1. present participle and gerund of purchase
noun
countable and uncountable, plural purchasings
1. An act or process of making a purchase.
  Quotations
  As our exports and imports are now nearly in balance, it is assumed that such bargaining, if agreed to, would induce the debtor nations to greatly increase their purchasings from us […]
  1936, James Arthur Fulton, Our economic nationalism: its purpose and importance, page 84
2. (business, government) A complex, organized process in large organizations for obtaining goods that may include identification of requirements, approvals, supplier management, negotiation, receipt of goods, and payment.
3. A part of an organization that manages such processes