bargaining chip
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of bargaining chip
First recorded in 1970–75
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.
Others, including Thaler, said the country’s leaders could use elections as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
The company could get aggressive at these auctions by not only collecting spectrum as a potential bargaining chip, but also by bidding up prices and raising the cost of business for its rivals, Zhu noted.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
Authorities in China have used rare earths as a bargaining chip.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
The island is much more than a bargaining chip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
With only a small battery of ICBMs powerful enough to reach the United States, and none of them completely reliable, Khrushchev felt that he needed a much bigger bargaining chip with Kennedy.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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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.