negotiation
Americannoun
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negotiations
plural
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mutual discussion and arrangement of the terms of a transaction or agreement.
the negotiation of a treaty.
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the act or process of negotiating.
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an instance or the result of negotiating.
noun
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a discussion set up or intended to produce a settlement or agreement
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the act or process of negotiating
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of negotiation
1570–80; < Latin negōtiātiōn- (stem of negōtiātiō ) a doing of business, equivalent to negōtiāt ( us ) ( see negotiate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A negotiation is a business-oriented conversation where two sides argue, discuss, and compromise to reach some agreement. When you hear the word negotiation, you know there are two sides and they're willing to talk to each other. In sports, the owners and the players union go through a negotiation to get a new contract. Parents and kids might have a negotiation over curfew time. Negotiation implies that both sides are willing to give something up and compromise. If your side won't give an inch, then you're not ready for negotiation.
Vocabulary lists containing negotiation
Franklin D. Roosevelt, "A Date That Will Live In Infamy" (1941)
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"Marriage is a Private Affair" by Chinua Achebe
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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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.
See Examples For:
In an interview, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said he is open to negotiation but will do “whatever it takes” to get the budget through.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
The monitoring of and restricted access to devices instead should come through negotiation, even when you are dealing with someone who is very recalcitrant.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
"We need to commit ourselves to patient dialogue, to show courage in negotiation and to be willing to give up some positions for the greater good of peace."
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Mbappe, now 27, said his mother went out to Liverpool for the "first step" of the negotiation.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
The trick to negotiation was to hold all the cards going in, and even if you didn’t, to try to look as though you did.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
The police had already ruled out forcing the parade through and when negotiations broke down, he had to step in.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
He was one of the few people privy to Chelsea's negotiations to sign Rogers from Aston Villa for a club-record £117m fee this summer.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
That would, in theory at least, set a firm and realistic agenda, cutting the endless hours of gruelling negotiations that often dominate COP meetings before votes are taken on individual technical points.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Or that the domestic-romantic subplot dropped into the middle of hostage negotiations doesn’t make for an inelegant construction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
We had all hoped that as negotiations got under way, violence would decrease.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
