chaffer
1 Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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to bargain; haggle.
to chaffer over a price.
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to bandy words; chatter.
to chaffer about nothing in particular.
verb (used with object)
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to bandy (words).
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Obsolete. to trade or deal in; barter.
noun
verb
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(intr) to haggle or bargain
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to chatter, talk, or say idly; bandy (words)
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obsolete (tr) to deal in; barter
noun
Other Word Forms
- chafferer noun
Etymology
Origin of chaffer1
1175–1225; Middle English chaffare, derivative of chapfare trading journey, equivalent to Old English cēap trade ( cheap ) + faru journey; fare
Origin of chaffer2
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.
There appraisers sit with ancient scales, chaffer to the utmost kran,* seal their purchase with a solemn glass of tea.
From Time Magazine Archive
"But I got to put that little chaffer to roost somewhere."
From Overland Red A Romance of the Moonstone Cañon Trail by Fischer, Anton Otto
A board the same thickness, 30 inches long, 3 1/2 inches wide, taper down 2 1/8 small end round chaffer.
From Deadfalls and Snares A Book of Instruction for Trappers About These and Other Home-Made Traps by Harding, A. R. (Arthur Robert)
"And, excuse me, sir; what pay will you give us?—not that I wish to chaffer with one who has come to my rescue in so generous a manner."
From A Desperate Voyage by Knight, Edward Frederick
But we know that if Assyrian balm was ever for the world's chaffer it was in the days of Borso, the good Duke.
From Little Novels of Italy by Hewlett, Maurice Henry
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.
