bargaining chip
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of bargaining chip
First recorded in 1970–75
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.
The company could get aggressive at these auctions by not only collecting spectrum as a potential bargaining chip, but also by bidding up prices and raising the cost of business for its rivals, Zhu noted.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
Leading up to his arrest, the sources said, Guzmán López notified U.S. agents that he would be arriving imminently and suggested they would be pleased with his bargaining chip.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The island is much more than a bargaining chip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
"Now it's no longer going to be able to use Lebanon as a bargaining chip."
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
With only a small battery of ICBMs powerful enough to reach the United States, and none of them completely reliable, Khrushchev felt that he needed a much bigger bargaining chip with Kennedy.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
