haggle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
haggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
haggled,
past participle, past
-
haggling
present participle
-
to bargain in a petty, quibbling, and often contentious manner.
They spent hours haggling over the price of fish.
-
to wrangle, dispute, or cavil.
The senators haggled interminably over the proposed bill.
verb (used with object)
-
haggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
haggled,
past participle, past
-
haggling
present participle
-
to mangle in cutting; hack.
-
to settle on by haggling.
-
Archaic. to harass with wrangling or haggling.
noun
verb
-
to bargain or wrangle (over a price, terms of an agreement, etc); barter
-
rare (tr) to hack
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hagglesimple
-
hagglessimple
-
have haggledperfect
-
has haggledperfect
-
am hagglingprogressive
-
are hagglingprogressive
-
is hagglingprogressive
-
have been hagglingperfect progressive
-
has been hagglingperfect progressive
Past
-
haggledsimple
-
had haggledperfect
-
was hagglingprogressive
-
were hagglingprogressive
-
had been hagglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of haggle
1275–1325; Middle English haggen to cut, chop (< Old Norse hǫggva to hew ) + -le
Explanation
If you want a great deal on a used TV, then you can try to haggle with the sellers to see if they’ll bring the price down. To haggle is to negotiate or argue over something, usually a price. You can haggle at a flea market or anywhere where the price of items is flexible. But haggle doesn’t always refer to price. You can haggle over a job, a contract, or who gets to ride in the front seat. Haggling is relatively aggressive behavior, and this word is closer in meaning to wrangle than it is to negotiate. You’ll rarely hear of anyone haggling quietly. Haggle implies an argument in which both parties want the best deal for themselves.
Vocabulary lists containing haggle
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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:
Emphasize that it would be better for them to be present — not only to help you, but also to haggle with shoppers and ensure their items are selling for prices they feel are appropriate.
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
That means the deals are likely here to stay, and you have time to educate yourself, take some test drives, and haggle harder for the car you want at a price you can afford.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
"I don't think we should be using the hereditary privilege we have in the Lords to haggle or negotiate for life peerages," the earl said.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
“Each piece represents a store we love, a lucky find or a successful haggle that ended with us carrying home something with history.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026
Mama Tataba would haggle with the women at the door, and finally turn to us with her scrawny arms raised up like a boxing champ, holding up our dinner.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
In “Between Riverside and Crazy,” a Black man haggles over the concessions he’s being offered by his former employer, the New York Police Department, eight years after he was shot by a white cop.
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2023
He haggles with a supermarket cashier, admires the paved roads, poses with a power mower to impress a cousin back home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2021
McGee notes that Washington often haggles as all sides try to cut a deal.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 1, 2020
The markets are always a necessary visit, and it helps that he speaks Cantonese and haggles for me.
From The Verge ● Dec. 15, 2017
And simply, on the score of a new hat needed, she keeps it back and haggles!
From Certain Personal Matters by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The states and Paramount haggled over potential sales of cable channels including CNN, a step California and Connecticut pushed for, people familiar with the situation said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
I want to hear about a time when you successfully haggled to score a great deal.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
The fishmonger and I haggled over the sea bass.
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2025
Paramount and Skydance have haggled for months over an ambitious merger that would usher in a new ruler of a sprawling media kingdom that includes CBS, MTV and the film studio behind “Top Gun.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2024
Baba greeted acquaintances from the old country and I haggled with buyers over a dollar or two.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Some dealers said they see the move as a step toward moving toward a no-haggle sales model like at Tesla or Carvana, especially as more buyers balk at haggling and other traditional dealer tactics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
This week in the Don’t Short Yourself newsletter, Genna Contino provided numerous examples of how you can save a ton of money by haggling.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
Meanwhile, Carvana eschews traditional dealer tactics like commissioned salespeople, price haggling and profitable documentation fees tacked onto the transaction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
The corridors were packed with Chinese and foreign buyers haggling over prices, while shop owners touted products on live streams in front of glowing phone screens.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
I had never witnessed such haggling over prices.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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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.
