haggle

1 of 2

verb

hag·​gle ˈha-gəl 

haggled; haggling ˈha-g(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to cut roughly or clumsily : hack

2

archaic : to annoy or exhaust with wrangling

intransitive verb

: bargain, wrangle

haggling over the price

haggler

ˈha-g(ə-)lər 

noun

haggle

2 of 2

noun

: an act of negotiating or arguing over the terms of a purchase, agreement, or contract : an instance of haggling or bargaining

a haggle over price

Synonyms

Verb

• bargain
• chaffer
• deal
• dicker
• horse-trade
• negotiate
• palter

Examples of haggle in a Sentence

Verb

She is good at haggling.

had to haggle to get his friend to sell his guitar for 20 bucks

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

As the Senate haggles over how to fill Trump’s Cabinet, many of his allies are campaigning for the nominations. —Adriana Gomez Licon, Chicago Tribune, 11 Nov. 2024

The advocates blast Biden for haggling with the GOP over immigration in order to secure new funding to help Ukraine beat back Russia’s invasion. —Tim Padgett, Sun Sentinel, 4 Feb. 2024

Vaping remains mired in controversy in the U.S., as e-cigarette companies and federal regulators continue to haggle over the products’ health effects and marketing guardrails. —Rob Wile, NBC News, 23 Oct. 2024

But the 49ers are probably past the point of haggling over every dollar. —Tim Kawakami, The Athletic, 16 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

frequentative of hag to hew

First Known Use

Verb

1589, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun

1829, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

haggle

verb

hag·​gle

ˈhag-əl

haggled; haggling

-(ə-)liŋ

: to dispute or argue especially in bargaining

haggle noun

haggler

-(ə-)lər

noun