Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense dickers, present participle dickering, past tense, past participle dickered
verb
If you say that people are dickering about something, you mean that they are arguing or disagreeing about it, often in a way that you think is foolish or unnecessary.
[mainly US, disapproval]
Management and labor are dickering over pay, benefits and working conditions. [V + over/about]
He may be expecting us to dicker. Don't. [VERB]
dicker in British English
(ˈdɪkə)
verb
1.
to trade (goods) by bargaining; barter
2. (intransitive)
to negotiate a political deal
noun
3.
a.
a petty bargain or barter
b.
the item or items bargained or bartered
4.
a political deal or bargain
Word origin
C12: ultimately from Latin decuriadecury; related to Middle Low German dēker lot of ten hides
dicker in American English
(ˈdɪkər)
US
verb intransitive
1.
to trade by bargaining, esp. on a small or petty scale; barter or haggle
noun
2.
the act of bargaining or haggling
Word origin
< dicker, ten, ten hides (as a unit of barter) < ME dycer, akin to Du daker, Ger decher, Dan deger, ult. < L decuria, a division of ten < decem, ten