dicker

¹ American  

[dik-er] / ˈdɪk ər /

verb (used without object)

1. to deal, swap, or trade with petty bargaining; bargain; haggle.

2. to barter.

3. to try to arrange matters by mutual bargaining.

   They dickered for hours over some of the finer points of the contract.

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noun

1. a petty bargain.

2. a barter or swap.

3. an item or goods bartered or swapped.

4. a deal, especially a political deal.

dicker ² American  

[dik-er] / ˈdɪk ər /

noun

1. the number or quantity ten, especially a lot of ten hides or skins.

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dicker British  

/ ˈdɪkə /

verb

1. to trade (goods) by bargaining; barter

2. (intr) to negotiate a political deal

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noun

1. 1. a petty bargain or barter

   2. the item or items bargained or bartered

2. a political deal or bargain

Etymology

Origin of dicker¹

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805; perhaps verb use of dicker ²

Origin of dicker²

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English diker, deker, from Old French dacre and Medieval Latin dikeria, dacra; ultimately from Latin decuria decury

Example Sentences

And Europeans will think that they have a license to dicker with China, too.

From Washington Post • Mar. 1, 2023

The celebrity may dicker over the price, but ultimately reach an agreement.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 5, 2021

Watching Matt Carpenter dicker and eye-roll over balls and strikes like he's Ted Williams.

From The Guardian • Oct. 11, 2012

But we will cease to bargain and dicker over merit aid awards once offered, including requests to match or exceed another institution’s merit aid offer.

From New York Times • Feb. 18, 2011

They had a device that made a loud clicking sound up there in the balcony, and when that noisy dicker sounded, the contestant was supposed to stop singing in midpassage and walk off the stage.

From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman

Related Words

• haggle