hard bargain
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“They do drive a hard bargain but often fail at demonstrating the flexibility when they must,” Vaez said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
The hard bargain of public education has always been that it seeks to do the greatest good for the greatest number of kids, meaning it rarely offers perfection for individual children.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026
By preventing creditors from attaching to Iraq’s oil shipments, the country was able to drive a hard bargain.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
Since they haggle on behalf of health plans that collectively enroll hundreds of millions of Americans, these PBMs have considerable leverage, and should theoretically drive a hard bargain and win enormous discounts.
From Salon ● May 31, 2025
Captain Smith drives a hard bargain; he will not give away a single bead cheaply.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
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.
