: the number or quantity of 10 especially of hides or skins
Did you know?
The origins of the verb dicker likely lie in an older dicker, the noun referring to a quantity of ten animal hides or skins. The idea is that the verb arose from the bartering of, and haggling over, animal hides on the American frontier. The noun dicker comes from decuria, the Latin word for a bundle of ten hides, and ultimately from the Latin word decem, meaning "ten." The word entered Middle English as dyker and by the 14th century had evolved to dicker.
Synonyms
Examples of dicker in a Sentence
Verb
I tried to dicker for a discounted price.
they dickered over the price of the car for a few minutes
Noun (2)
was hoping to make a dicker with another collector of records from the 1950s
Recent Examples on the Web
Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2024
Last year’s announcement was delayed nearly an hour while the Atlantic Coast Conference, bowl directors and television executives dickered — bickered?
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Dec. 2023
Conrad's lawyer dickered for weeks with the owners of Baldwin House.
—Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 24 Apr. 2023
The celebrity may dicker over the price, but ultimately reach an agreement.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2021
Numerous lawsuits have been filed, especially against Weinstein and his company, but remain mired in legal limbo as attorneys for plaintiffs and defendants dicker over damages.
—Maria Puente, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2021
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
But nothing said at this point can be separated from the bluffing and haggling and dickering central to such high-dollar negotiations.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2024
Last year’s announcement was delayed nearly an hour while the Atlantic Coast Conference, bowl directors and television executives dickered — bickered?
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Dec. 2023
Conrad's lawyer dickered for weeks with the owners of Baldwin House.
—Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 24 Apr. 2023
The celebrity may dicker over the price, but ultimately reach an agreement.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2021
Numerous lawsuits have been filed, especially against Weinstein and his company, but remain mired in legal limbo as attorneys for plaintiffs and defendants dicker over damages.
—Maria Puente, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2021
Dictionary Entries Near dicker
Cite this Entry
“Dicker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dicker. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share