1
as in negotiating
to talk over or dispute the terms of a purchase
they bargained with the car salesman for half an hour before settling on a price
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in agreeing
to come to an arrangement as to a course of action
I really hadn't bargained on buying a whole case of Girl Scout cookies, just a couple of boxes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in arranging
to bring about through discussion and compromise
bargained the price of the painting down to a figure that the artist could still live with
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bargaining
Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Nurses at Howard Brown Health have voted to allow their bargaining team to call a strike amid contract talks and concerns about staffing and pay, according to their union.
—Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
Unions further increase productivity by reducing turnover, promoting professional training, and bargaining over safety standards.
—Teresa Ghilarducci, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
That informed and strengthened Minnesota’s bargaining position.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
Rights groups told Sourcing Journal that brands must weigh reputational risks, pointing to routine police restrictions on marches and warning that limited space for assembly undermines good-faith bargaining.
—Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 25 Aug. 2025
Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2025
The settlement resolved a complaint alleging the health center had illegally laid off more than 50 workers without bargaining with their union.
—Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
For some bargaining units, like the California Association of State Attorneys and Administrative Law Judges, the change came less than a month after the union started bargaining a new contract with the state.
—William Melhado, Sacramento Bee, 5 Mar. 2025
As Philadelphia systematically destroyed Kansas City on Sunday, Eagles fans were no doubt too … ebullient to pay much attention to the ads, while Chiefs supporters no doubt spent the commercial breaks bargaining with God or dousing themselves with Arthur Bryant‘s Barbecue Sauce for luck.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2025
The union’s local chapter at Palmetto General, which represents 650 nurses at the hospital, will be bargaining for new contracts this year with Healthcare Systems of America, or HSA.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 17 Jan. 2025
This week’s East and Gulf Coast dockworker strike was the first in decades in those regions, but the union isn’t new to bargaining over technology.
—Jenn Brice, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2024
Verb
The identity of the bargaining unit is also unclear.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Nurses at Howard Brown Health have voted to allow their bargaining team to call a strike amid contract talks and concerns about staffing and pay, according to their union.
—Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
Unions further increase productivity by reducing turnover, promoting professional training, and bargaining over safety standards.
—Teresa Ghilarducci, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
That informed and strengthened Minnesota’s bargaining position.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
Rights groups told Sourcing Journal that brands must weigh reputational risks, pointing to routine police restrictions on marches and warning that limited space for assembly undermines good-faith bargaining.
—Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 25 Aug. 2025
Noun
Businesses can avoid antitrust scrutiny by collectively bargaining economic rules with employees’ unions.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2025
The settlement resolved a complaint alleging the health center had illegally laid off more than 50 workers without bargaining with their union.
—Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
For some bargaining units, like the California Association of State Attorneys and Administrative Law Judges, the change came less than a month after the union started bargaining a new contract with the state.
—William Melhado, Sacramento Bee, 5 Mar. 2025
As Philadelphia systematically destroyed Kansas City on Sunday, Eagles fans were no doubt too … ebullient to pay much attention to the ads, while Chiefs supporters no doubt spent the commercial breaks bargaining with God or dousing themselves with Arthur Bryant‘s Barbecue Sauce for luck.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2025
The union’s local chapter at Palmetto General, which represents 650 nurses at the hospital, will be bargaining for new contracts this year with Healthcare Systems of America, or HSA.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 17 Jan. 2025
This week’s East and Gulf Coast dockworker strike was the first in decades in those regions, but the union isn’t new to bargaining over technology.
—Jenn Brice, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bargaining
Verb
-
On Tinder alone, men dominate the active user base, which gives women more choice and negotiating power.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Brown as the crafty Pauline is the true scene stealer, negotiating terms of terror herself.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The effort also includes designations of Clean California communities, with 30 agreeing to long-term commitments to zero litter and community beautification.—
Amelia Wu,
Sacbee.com,
5 Sep. 2025
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The case was settled after three years, with Crosno's former landlord agreeing to take fair housing training and pay $20,000 in damages, Crosno said.—
Quinn Clark,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Around the country, arranging for housing is a relatively new and growing challenge for such PACE groups, which are funded through Medicaid and Medicare.—
Felice J. Freyer,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 2025
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One study — admittedly small and enabled by the hack of affair-arranging app Ashley Madison in 2015 — found that companies whose CEOs or CFOs were paying users of the site were twice as likely to have had a financial misstatement or involvement in a securities class action.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Trump earlier this week said India had offered to cut its tariffs on American imports to zero, while complaining that the proposal had come too late in the negotiation.—
Priyanka Salve,Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
9 Sep. 2025
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Hours earlier, the government announced that some 300 South Koreans who were detained in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid last Thursday on the Hyundai-LG joint factory in southern Georgia will return to Korea on a chartered flight following negotiations with the US.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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And there is often an expectation of escapism in romance that precludes dealing realistically with money — or, for big media blockbusters, a cynical assumption that audiences won't enjoy a romcom which also takes the logistics of life seriously.—
Chelsea Fagan,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
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There just aren’t many trades in the NFL as seismic as Dallas dealing Micah Parsons to Green Bay on the eve of the regular season.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Durango Antique Market Hunt for bargains and hidden gems at the Durango Antique Market, a downtown storefront with more than 20 different vendors.—
Cu Fleshman,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Sep. 2025
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The extension looks like a bargain, however, given a Sports Illustrated report that both the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Giants were offering the 37-year-old quarterback more than $100 million.—
Brett Knight,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Whether gazing from Gellért Hill or haggling for paprika in the Great Market Hall—the city reveals itself in fragments—intimate, contradictory, and impossible to forget.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Heimlich Community College has rejected her application for Budget and Finance director on the grounds that experience haggling in Saudi-eye Arabi-eyen flea markets is not the same as a master’s in economics, forcing Peggy to admit her career in academia is over.—
Genevieve Koski,
Vulture,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
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According to Edmunds data, leases made up 70% of EV transactions in July, compared with 10% for the same month three years ago before the loophole went into place.—
Susan Tompor,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
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Now, government ethics experts and Democratic lawmakers are criticizing the family’s venture, citing potential conflicts of interest stemming from the Trumps’ regulatory influence and possible insider transactions.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bargaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bargaining. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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