dicker

¹ American  

[dik-er] / ˈdɪk ər /

verb (used without object)

1. to deal, swap, or trade with petty bargaining; bargain; haggle.

2. to barter.

3. to try to arrange matters by mutual bargaining.

   They dickered for hours over some of the finer points of the contract.

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noun

1. a petty bargain.

2. a barter or swap.

3. an item or goods bartered or swapped.

4. a deal, especially a political deal.

dicker ² American  

[dik-er] / ˈdɪk ər /

noun

1. the number or quantity ten, especially a lot of ten hides or skins.

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dicker British  

/ ˈdɪkə /

verb

1. to trade (goods) by bargaining; barter

2. (intr) to negotiate a political deal

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noun

1. 1. a petty bargain or barter

   2. the item or items bargained or bartered

2. a political deal or bargain

Etymology

Origin of dicker¹

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805; perhaps verb use of dicker ²

Origin of dicker¹

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English diker, deker, from Old French dacre and Medieval Latin dikeria, dacra; ultimately from Latin decuria decury

Example Sentences

But nothing said at this point can be separated from the bluffing and haggling and dickering central to such high-dollar negotiations.

From Los Angeles Times

One reason is the endless, costly dickering among middlemen like Envision and UnitedHealth to make sure they get their share of the bucks sloshing around in the system.

From Los Angeles Times

That opened the process to almost infinite legal dickering.

From Los Angeles Times

And Europeans will think that they have a license to dicker with China, too.

From Washington Post

I enjoyed looking, and I enjoyed considering, and I enjoyed dickering, and now I’m gloating a bit over my new old things.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• haggle