| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| bargain |
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| SYLLABICATION: | bar·gain |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  bär g n |
| NOUN: | 1. An agreement between parties fixing obligations that each promises to carry out. 2a. An agreement establishing the terms of a sale or exchange of goods or services: finally reached a bargain with the antique dealer over the lamp. b. Property acquired or services rendered as a result of such an agreement. 3. Something offered or acquired at a price advantageous to the buyer. | | VERB: | Inflected forms: bar·gained, bar·gain·ing, bar·gains
| | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To negotiate the terms of an agreement, as to sell or exchange. 2. To engage in collective bargaining. 3. To arrive at an agreement. | | TRANSITIVE VERB: | To exchange; trade: bargained my watch for a meal. | | PHRASAL VERB: | bargain for (or on) To count on; expect: “I never bargained for this tearing feeling inside me” (Anne Tyler). | | IDIOM: | into (or in) the bargain Over and above what is expected; in addition. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old French bargaigne, haggling, from bargaignier, to haggle, of Germanic origin. See bhergh-1 in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | bargain·er —NOUN
| | SYNONYMS: | bargain, compact2, contract, covenant, deal1 These nouns denote an agreement arrived at after a discussion in which the parties involved promise to honor their respective obligations: kept my end of the bargain and mowed the lawn; made a compact to correspond regularly; a legally binding contract to install new windows; a covenant for mutual defense; ignored the requests that weren't part of the deal.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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