bargain for
Britishverb
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Also, bargain over . Negotiate about something, usually a price. For example, In open-air markets it is standard practice to bargain for the best price . [Late 1300s]
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Also, bargain on . Expect, be prepared for, as in In planning the picnic, we hadn't bargained for bad weather , or I hadn't bargained on John's coming along . [c. 1800] For a synonym, see count on .
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.
They didn’t even come to the table to try to bargain for some compromise.
From Slate • Apr. 24, 2026
That implies it would be a bargain for investors who put profits first, with a similar view emerging for Amazon, with its PEG ratio of 1.9, versus Walmart at 5.76 and Costco at 5.2.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 18, 2026
Its cheap oil has historically been a better bargain for U.S. refineries than the light, sweet oil produced by U.S. frackers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
What he really did not bargain for was the Old Trafford side hurtling backwards at such an alarming rate.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2025
I didn’t bargain for Mother’s life, because I didn’t believe she was in danger of dying.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
