often attributive
1
: an agreement between parties settling what each gives or receives in a transaction between them or what course of action or policy each pursues in respect to the other
They struck a bargain to sell only to each other.
Keep your side of the bargain.
2
: something acquired by or as if by negotiating over the terms of a purchase, agreement, or contract
especially
: an advantageous purchase
At that price the car is a bargain.
We got a bargain on the plane tickets.
3
: a transaction, situation, or event regarded in the light of its results
a bad bargain
bargained; bargaining; bargains
1
: to negotiate over the terms of a purchase, agreement, or contract : haggle
The seller might be willing to bargain over the price.
2
: to come to terms : agree
1
: to bring to a desired level by bargaining
bargain a price down
2
: to sell or dispose of by bargaining
—often used with away
bargained away wage increases for other benefits
bargainer
noun
Synonyms
Examples of bargain in a Sentence
Noun
I think everyone involved was satisfied with the bargain we made.
They've agreed to turn the land over to the state, and the state, as its part of the bargain, has agreed to keep it undeveloped.
She likes to hunt for bargains when she shops.
Verb
The price listed is quite high, but the seller might be willing to bargain.
they bargained with the car salesman for half an hour before settling on a price
Recent Examples on the Web
Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
An Omaha auction house was clearing out a bunch of old items acquired by a defunct local film distributor, and Huggins thought $20 was a bargain for a box of mystery reels.
—Cathy Free, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
The owner of Burlington’s South Side Inn, which is charging $1,585 a night for rooms that usually go for $120, told the New York Post that guests have even made up stories in an effort to snag a bargain.
—Erin Clements, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Jesus Hernandez, 25, was sentenced in Criminal District Court No. 3 to 10 years in prison under plea bargain terms negotiated by the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office and the defendant’s defense attorneys.
—Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
Those sums, though, look like a relative bargain, compared with the price of music lessons.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 27 Mar. 2024
Look for bargains, keep your overhead low and proceed with a strict budget.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
The working relationship with city agencies was made possible, Henderson said, because residents kept up their end of the bargain by cleaning up the block, putting effort into beautification, and getting familiar with how the city departments could help them.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Although traditionally seen as an extravagant choice, cruising today is known just as much for its family-friendly and bargain deals.
—David Nikel, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2024
And even when one company is the owner, such as the case with Starbucks, workers at individual locations frequently must unionize and bargain with the corporation separately.
—Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2024
Because of the pandemic, the AMPTP did not bargain with the IATSE locals individually in 2021, and instead folded some of those concerns into the general talks on the Basic Agreement.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 29 Mar. 2024
Independent shops are more likely to bargain over repair prices.
—USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
But homeowners will end up with more savings than the city bargained for.
—Sarah Ritter, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
The Condé Union and management have bargaining a first union contract since September 2022.
—Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2024
Even so, many union contracts protect workers from this level of monitoring, and any employer with a unionized workforce would have to bargain with them before implementing said level of surveillance.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024
For the first time in 36 years, IATSE, Teamsters and the Hollywood Basic Crafts will jointly bargain for their pension and health benefits, while negotiating the rest of their terms separately.
—Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024
Noun
The auction house expects the car to go for between $2 million and $2.5 million which some might call a bargain for the hybrid supercar.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
An Omaha auction house was clearing out a bunch of old items acquired by a defunct local film distributor, and Huggins thought $20 was a bargain for a box of mystery reels.
—Cathy Free, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
The owner of Burlington’s South Side Inn, which is charging $1,585 a night for rooms that usually go for $120, told the New York Post that guests have even made up stories in an effort to snag a bargain.
—Erin Clements, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Jesus Hernandez, 25, was sentenced in Criminal District Court No. 3 to 10 years in prison under plea bargain terms negotiated by the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office and the defendant’s defense attorneys.
—Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
Those sums, though, look like a relative bargain, compared with the price of music lessons.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 27 Mar. 2024
Look for bargains, keep your overhead low and proceed with a strict budget.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
The working relationship with city agencies was made possible, Henderson said, because residents kept up their end of the bargain by cleaning up the block, putting effort into beautification, and getting familiar with how the city departments could help them.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Although traditionally seen as an extravagant choice, cruising today is known just as much for its family-friendly and bargain deals.
—David Nikel, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Verb
Lynch first announced that the company was intending to lay off five percent of its workforce on Nov. 1, and the Condé Union has been bargaining those cuts ever since.
—Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2024
And even when one company is the owner, such as the case with Starbucks, workers at individual locations frequently must unionize and bargain with the corporation separately.
—Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2024
Because of the pandemic, the AMPTP did not bargain with the IATSE locals individually in 2021, and instead folded some of those concerns into the general talks on the Basic Agreement.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 29 Mar. 2024
Independent shops are more likely to bargain over repair prices.
—USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
But homeowners will end up with more savings than the city bargained for.
—Sarah Ritter, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
The Condé Union and management have bargaining a first union contract since September 2022.
—Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2024
Even so, many union contracts protect workers from this level of monitoring, and any employer with a unionized workforce would have to bargain with them before implementing said level of surveillance.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024
For the first time in 36 years, IATSE, Teamsters and the Hollywood Basic Crafts will jointly bargain for their pension and health benefits, while negotiating the rest of their terms separately.
—Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bargain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Dictionary Entries Near bargain
Cite this Entry
“Bargain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bargain. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bargain
1 of 2 noun
bar·gain
ˈbär-gən 
1
: an agreement between parties settling what each is to give or receive in a business deal
2
: something bought or offered for sale at a desirable price
bargain
2 of 2 verb
: to talk over the terms of a purchase or agreement
bargainer
noun
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