negotiate
Americanverb (used without object)
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negotiates,
present (3rd person singular)
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negotiated,
past participle, past
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negotiating
present participle
verb (used with object)
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negotiates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
negotiated,
past participle, past
-
negotiating
present participle
-
to arrange for or bring about by discussion and settlement of terms.
to negotiate a loan.
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to manage; transact; conduct.
He negotiated an important business deal.
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to move through, around, or over in a satisfactory manner.
to negotiate a difficult dance step without tripping: to negotiate sharp curves.
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to transfer (a draft, promissory note, etc.) to a new owner by endorsement and delivery or by delivery.
verb
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to work or talk (with others) to achieve (a transaction, an agreement, etc)
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(tr) to succeed in passing through, around, or over
to negotiate a mountain pass
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(tr) finance
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to transfer (a negotiable commercial paper) by endorsement to another in return for value received
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to sell (financial assets)
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to arrange for (a loan)
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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negotiatesimple
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negotiatessimple
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have negotiatedperfect
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has negotiatedperfect
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am negotiatingprogressive
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are negotiatingprogressive
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is negotiatingprogressive
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have been negotiatingperfect progressive
-
has been negotiatingperfect progressive
Past
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negotiatedsimple
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had negotiatedperfect
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was negotiatingprogressive
-
were negotiatingprogressive
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had been negotiatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of negotiate
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin negōtiātus “traded,” past participle of negōtiārī “to do business, trade,” verb derivative of negōtium “business,” from nec, neg- “not” ( cf. neglect ( def. )) + ōtium “leisure”
Explanation
To negotiate is to try to work out an agreement between parties that each want something out of the deal. You might negotiate with your mom — offering to do more chores for a raise in your allowance. Good luck. Negotiation is all about give and take. Governments are always negotiating with unions, trying to define the terms of new contracts. The government might offer the teachers union a raise, if they agree to work 200 days a year instead of 180. The verb negotiate can also mean to successfully pass through or travel along. You may have to negotiate a hazardous road, or a tricky path through sticker bushes.
Vocabulary lists containing negotiate
Chains
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Vocabulary from the First Presidential Debate: September 26, 2016
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In voting to abandon the road elevation project, the supervisors directed county staff to immediately begin developing plans to reroute the road and to approach — and potentially negotiate with — land owners.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
When opposing nations recognize their vulnerability to widespread economic and institutional disruption, the incentives to negotiate could become more powerful than the incentives to fight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Airbnb has been asking travelers and hosts to negotiate that question for years.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026
The wall of debt that’s coming due starting in 2028 and private-equity firms are racing to negotiate loan extensions on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
It had taken Seabiscuit 1:42 to negotiate eight furlongs on the training track, and that was under strong urging.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
An in-house real-estate team aggressively scouts and negotiates deals for prime locations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
She tours major international defence shows, negotiates with arms manufacturers and takes part in discussions on Europe's rearmament.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
The European Commission - the bloc's executive arm that negotiates trade deals on behalf of EU member states, has also drawn criticism.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
But one possibility would be matters concerning the television rights the league negotiates with media companies.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
While other children of their age learned other things, Estha and Rahel learned how history negotiates its terms and collects its dues from those who break its laws.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
When she wasn’t going door-to-door to recruit new members, Huerta negotiated with growers and created union hiring halls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
If none of the above scenarios can be negotiated, the default outcome would be new elections.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Seinfeld—along with his “Seinfeld” co-creator and partner Larry David—had negotiated one of the industry’s best back-end deals with the show’s production company, Castle Rock Entertainment, reportedly granting them each 15% of syndication profits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Separately, as part of the company’s new Founder Alignment agreement, the board negotiated with Zuckerberg to remain a resident of California for the next eight years, barring “material unforeseen circumstances.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
I said I hoped that a climate conducive to a negotiated settlement could soon be achieved, ending the need for the armed struggle.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
The world's nations have been gathered in Yerevan for nearly two weeks negotiating, and arguing, over a new agreement on nature.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
It would put Xi physically at the center of the negotiating table.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
County Fire Department employees, agrees that the very threat of winding up in binding arbitration would encourage negotiating teams to cut a deal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
The commenter had spent considerable time walking delivery workers through specialty aisles and negotiating alternatives, an especially frustrating undertaking when dietary restrictions were involved.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
For four days in February 1962, Donovan shuttled between West Berlin and East Berlin, carrying messages between the two sides and carefully negotiating the terms of release.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
