bargain
/ˈbɑːɡɪn
/noun
1An agreement between two or more people or groups as to what each will do for the other: bargains between political parties supporting the government...
- This is clearly a political bargain or contract.
- The Maastricht package was a political bargain, which deliberately left for later negotiation many of the wider ramifications of monetary union.
- Gauthier argues that it is the outcome that minimizes the maximum relative concessions of each party to the bargain.
Synonyms
agreement, arrangement, understanding, deal;
contract, pact, compact, covenant, concordat, treaty, entente, accord, concord, protocol, convention;
pledge, promise, engagement;
transaction, negotiation
2A thing bought or offered for sale much more cheaply than is usual or expected: the table was a real bargain [as modifier]: a bargain price of 99p...
- The sale offers bargains and discounts of up to 70 per cent on everything from fashion to food and electronics to jewellery.
- And whatever else January may bring with it, it also offers new beginnings and bargains at the sales.
- What can be wrong with this, especially when they're offering a bargain price on the bundle?
Synonyms
good buy, cheap buy;
(good) value for money, surprisingly cheap
informal snip, steal, giveaway
verb [no object]
1Negotiate the terms and conditions of a transaction: he bargained with the local council to rent the stadium...
- Consequently, service fees get bargained down in contract negotiations.
- Springlike weather prevailed as vendors and buyers bartered and bargained.
- Increased union membership in the mid-twentieth century clearly helped, as workers bargained and lobbied for improved working conditions.
Synonyms
haggle, barter, negotiate, discuss terms, hold talks, deal, wheel and deal, trade, traffic;
North American dicker
formal treat
archaic chaffer, palter
1.1 [with object] (bargain something away) Part with something after negotiation but get little or nothing in return: his determination not to bargain away any of the province’s economic powers...
- Mr Dukes added that on the last occasion, EU agricultural interests were bargained away for gains in other sectors.
- We are not going to sit idly by and allow the Government to destroy our healthy and beautiful environment, as they bargain our lives away to a foreign entity, all for the sake of money.
- He told the Sun Herald that weekend rates, overtime and penalty rates could be bargained away, rendering the 38-hour week entirely meaningless.
2 (bargain for/on) Be prepared for; expect: I got more information than I’d bargained for he didn’t bargain on this storm...
- Prescott will begin to reconstruct his relationship with both Gilchrist and the employers in the next few days, prepared to bargain on the amount of cash the government will contribute to the deal.
- Your gripe was that you did not get what you bargained for and expected because of this misrepresentation.
- What Pitt-Watson probably hadn't bargained for was the formidable figure sitting to Grossart's right.
Synonyms
expect, anticipate, be prepared for, allow for, plan for, reckon with, take into account/consideration, contemplate, imagine, envisage, foresee, predict, look for, hope for, look to;
count on, rely on, depend on, bank on, plan on, reckon on, calculate on, be sure of, trust in, take for granted, take as read
North American informal figure on
Phrases
drive a hard bargain
into (in) the bargain
keep one's side of the bargain
Derivatives
bargainer
/ noun ...- Abdullah is going to be a harder negotiator, a harder bargainer.
- This technique can be quite effective against soft bargainers: American negotiators look for quick results, and the Russians know this.
- Henry pressed with the alacrity of a bargainer at the negotiating table.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French bargaine (noun), bargaignier (verb); probably of Germanic origin and related to German borgen 'borrow'.