haggle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to bargain in a petty, quibbling, and often contentious manner.
They spent hours haggling over the price of fish.
-
to wrangle, dispute, or cavil.
The senators haggled interminably over the proposed bill.
verb (used with object)
-
to mangle in cutting; hack.
-
to settle on by haggling.
-
Archaic. to harass with wrangling or haggling.
noun
verb
-
to bargain or wrangle (over a price, terms of an agreement, etc); barter
-
rare (tr) to hack
Other Word Forms
- haggler noun
- unhaggled adjective
- unhaggling adjective
Etymology
Origin of haggle
1275–1325; Middle English haggen to cut, chop (< Old Norse hǫggva to hew ) + -le
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.
"I don't think we should be using the hereditary privilege we have in the Lords to haggle or negotiate for life peerages," the earl said.
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
Car buyers might be getting less inclined to haggle, or perhaps just don’t get as much traction in negotiations as they used to.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026
“Each piece represents a store we love, a lucky find or a successful haggle that ended with us carrying home something with history.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2026
In short: months and months of talking, as party leaders try to form a workable coalition and haggle over a government programme palatable to all sides.
From Barron's • Oct. 29, 2025
Maybe a painter would come by and we could argue about method and haggle about price.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
