bargainbargain2 ●○○ verb [intransitive] 
workers bargaining for better paybargain over They bargained over the level of wages.bargain with women bargaining with traders—bargainer noun [countable]: He’s the hardest bargainer in the business.bargain for something (also bargain on something) phrasal verb [usually in negatives] to expect that something will happen and make it part of your plans: They hadn’t bargained for such a dramatic change in the weather.bargain on doing something I hadn’t bargained on being stuck in traffic on the way home. The thief got more than he bargained for, as Mr Cox tripped him up with his walking stick.
WORD ORIGINbargain2
Origin:
1300-1400 Old French bargaignierVERB TABLE
bargain
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | bargain |
| he, she, it | bargains | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | bargained |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have bargained |
| he, she, it | has bargained | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had bargained |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will bargain |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have bargained |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am bargaining |
| he, she, it | is bargaining | |
| you, we, they | are bargaining | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was bargaining |
| you, we, they | were bargaining | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been bargaining |
| he, she, it | has been bargaining | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been bargaining |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be bargaining |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been bargaining |
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- All day Ambedkar bargained with the Hindu negotiators.
- And you need know nothing, not even what we bargain among us.
- So Knapman, committed to the mental hospital in August, has been stuck there longer than anyone bargained for.
Longman Language Activatorto persuade someone to reduce the price of something
to try to persuade someone to reduce the price of something by arguing with them about what it is worth: · If you go to a street market, you'd better be prepared to haggle.haggle over something: · The passenger haggled over the fare before she got into the taxi.haggle with somebody: · My mother used to spend hours haggling with the market traders.
to try to persuade someone to reduce the price of something by discussing it with them: · She bargained with the woman who was selling the plates and managed to get them for half the usual price.
to persuade someone to reduce the price of something by arguing with them about it: beat somebody down to $50/£20 etc: · The owners originally wanted $1000 for the horse, but George managed to beat them down to $850.beat somebody down: · I beat him down and got the bracelet for $2.
WORD SETSabsolute advantage, aggregate demand, AGM, nounagribusiness, nounairline, nounappurtenance, nounassessment, nounbad debt, nounbalance sheet, nounbankroll, verbbankrupt, adjectivebankrupt, verbbankrupt, nounbankruptcy, nounbargain, verbbargain basement, nounbaron, nounbill of sale, nounbiz, nounblack market, nounblack marketeer, nounboom, nounboom and bust, nounboom town, nounbrown goods, nounbubble, nounbudget surplus, business card, nounbusiness cycle, business hours, nounbuyout, nouncapital, nouncapital-intensive, adjectivechamber of commerce, nounclerical, adjectiveconsumer, nounconsumer goods, noundisposable income, noundownturn, noundrive-through, nouneconomically, adverbfinancial, adjectiveflat, adjectivefree enterprise, noungiveaway, adjectiveincrement, nounindustry, nouninflate, verbinflated, adjectiveinflation, nouninflationary, adjectiveinsolvent, adjectiveinstitution, nouninterest, nounintroduction, nounlivery, nounlow season, nounlucrative, adjectiveMBA, nounmemo, nounmentoring, nounnegotiable, adjectivenegotiate, verbnegotiation, nounnon-profit, adjectiveopen, verboperational research, nounowner-occupied, adjectivepack, nounpackage, nounpaperwork, nounpatron, nounpatronage, nounpatronize, verbpay, verbpcm, peppercorn rent, nounpersonal assistant, nounplanned obsolescence, nounpp., quarter, nounquarter day, nounquota, nounquote, verbready-made, adjectivereal estate, nounrebate, nounredeem, verbredevelop, verbrefund, nounrent, nounshutdown, nounsliding scale, nounsubcontract, verbsubcontractor, nountariff, nounundercut, verbundersubscribed, adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The thief got more than he bargained for, as Mr Cox tripped him up with his walking stick.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
The thief got more than he bargained for, as Mr Cox tripped him up with his walking stick. (=someone’s ability to bargain/negotiate)· The new law has strengthened workers' bargaining position.
(also a knockdown/giveaway price) (=much lower than usual)· We sell quality cars at bargain prices.· The house is available at a knockdown price of $195,000.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· But Ben Macdhui has been known to give walkers more than they bargained for on several occasions.· But some Tories think he might get more than he has bargained for.· Choose your entertainments wisely this evening, as you could spend a lot more than you have bargained for.· One thing I had not bargained for was the amount of Gaelic spoken in the country districts.· It seems that our pursuit of happiness is proving to be much more radical than we bargained for.· This is not what I bargained for.· Jimmy Dean gave them more than they bargained for.· Without commitment faith seems to cost more than we bargained for.
· Mr Adamec cited pressure from the opposition in bargaining over the shape of a new government as his reason for stepping down.· Here and there were crowds of men bargaining over cattle and horses.· This would be something to be bargained over.
NOUN· The government's concern has led it to exert fairly direct, although informal, control over the pay bargaining process.
· The new government also wants approval of a law to protect witnesses and to encourage plea-bargaining.· Most criminal cases are therefore settled without trial by the process of plea bargaining between the prosecutor and the defense attorney.
· But there is, of course, another side to the wage bargaining coin.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► seal a deal/bargain/pact etc► somebody’s side of a deal/bargain
to discuss the conditions of a sale, agreement etc, for example to try and get a lower pricebargain for- Don't become despondent just because it seems that your employer is keen to drive a hard bargain.
- It could also be that Reilly, who has never knowingly sold himself short, is driving a hard bargain.
- So he was right to drive a hard bargain.
- The farmer had grown used to billeting troops and drove a hard bargain.
- And even if the signature is original it would only be of value to an autograph hunter not an art collector.
- During a recent visit he was mobbed by autograph hunters.
- Edgewater and Oak Hill have ordinances to protect possible archaeological sites from souvenir hunters.
- For the bargain hunter, plenty.
- Local militia had to protect it against enthusiastic souvenir hunters.
- Police even stopped one souvenir hunter cycling off with the ship's compass tucked under his arm.
- Read in studio Antique dealers and bargain hunters have been looking through the belongings of the late Robert Maxwell.
- Tokyo broke a three-day losing streak as the bargain hunters picked up blue chips and tech stocks, writes Ken Hijino.
- At the same time the peso was devalued by 600 % and inflation soared over consumers' purchasing power declined.
- Dollars have less international purchasing power and more dollars have to be spent.
- In a competitive market the bargaining power of the owner of a particular commodity is limited.
- Pensions represent a transfer of resources in the form of purchasing power from current taxpayers or pension-fund contributors to past contributors.
- That reduces the real purchasing power of wages.
- The drop in inflation boosted purchasing power, he said.
- The goods became obtainable, but not purchasable, because of the lack of purchasing power among the population.
- The third category relates to private transactions, where an equality of bargaining power is usually to be presumed.
- Ascend recently struck a deal to sell equipment to Pac Bell.
- Buyer and seller strike a bargain with each individual purchase.
- He struck a deal with the International Postal Union and received a copy of every stamp issued anywhere in the world.
- Historically, an exchange was a physical thing; a room or building where people met to gather information and strike bargains.
- Orlando, Florida, even struck a deal in which a developer built a new city hall.
- So we struck a bargain, or at least I thought we had.
- The company initially had struck a deal with Motorola.
- The plant strikes a bargain with its emissary.
workers bargaining for better paybargain over They bargained over the level of wages.bargain with women bargaining with traders—bargainer noun [countable]: He’s the hardest bargainer in the business.bargain for something (also bargain on something) phrasal verb [usually in negatives] to expect that something will happen and make it part of your plans: They hadn’t bargained for such a dramatic change in the weather.bargain on doing something I hadn’t bargained on being stuck in traffic on the way home. The thief got more than he bargained for, as Mr Cox tripped him up with his walking stick.