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
I've often seen un at our races, but I little thought of having to chaffer with un.
From The Wanderer (Volume 3 of 5) or, Female Difficulties by Burney, Fanny
It would not cheapen in the chaffer; on the contrary, give him the usufruct for a few years, and he would be not only the happiest but the most considerable of men.
From Little Novels of Italy by Hewlett, Maurice Henry
I wisht I'd 'a' had him runnin' the 'Guzzuh' instead of that little chicken-breasted chaffer they three-shelled on to me in Los Angeles.
From Overland Red A Romance of the Moonstone Cañon Trail by Fischer, Anton Otto
Well, I’ll see: maybe I shall walk over one of these days and chaffer with him.
From One Snowy Night Long ago at Oxford by Irwin, M. (Madelaine)
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.
