chaffer
1 Americannoun
verb (used without object)
-
to bargain; haggle.
to chaffer over a price.
-
to bandy words; chatter.
to chaffer about nothing in particular.
verb (used with object)
-
to bandy (words).
-
Obsolete. to trade or deal in; barter.
noun
verb
-
(intr) to haggle or bargain
-
to chatter, talk, or say idly; bandy (words)
-
obsolete (tr) to deal in; barter
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of chaffer1
1175–1225; Middle English chaffare, derivative of chapfare trading journey, equivalent to Old English cēap trade ( see cheap) + faru journey; see 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 will not chaffer with him; he may have as much as he asks.
From Too Rich A Romance by Streckfuss, Adolph
You didn’t know I could chaffer Latin with the best of ’em, did you?
From The Nebuly Coat by Falkner, John Meade
And thankful she was that Goodman Kellar came the next moment with eggs and butter for Mistress Cory Ann to chaffer or bargain about.
From Maid Sally by Cheever, Harriet A.
To an Englishman who has not travelled in the States and become familiar with the methods employed there by business men, it seems odd that anyone should chaffer with the clerk at a ticket-office.
From A Tramp's Notebook by Roberts, Morley
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.
