Library / English Dictionary

BARGAIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each

Example:

he rose to prominence through a series of shady deals

Synonyms:

bargain; deal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("bargain" is a kind of...):

agreement; understanding (the statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promises)

Derivation:

bargain (negotiate the terms of an exchange)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An advantageous purchase

Example:

the stock was a real buy at that price

Synonyms:

bargain; buy; steal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("bargain" is a kind of...):

purchase (something acquired by purchase)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bargain"):

song (a very small sum)

travel bargain (a bargain rate for travellers on commercial routes (usually air routes))

Derivation:

bargain (negotiate the terms of an exchange)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Come to terms; arrive at an agreement

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "bargain" is one way to...):

agree (consent or assent to a condition, or agree to do something)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

bargainer (negotiator of the terms of a transaction)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Negotiate the terms of an exchange

Example:

We bargained for a beautiful rug in the bazaar

Synonyms:

bargain; dicker

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "bargain" is one way to...):

negociate; negotiate; talk terms (discuss the terms of an arrangement)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bargain"):

chaffer; haggle; higgle; huckster (wrangle (over a price, terms of an agreement, etc.))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

Sam and Sue bargain

Sam wants to bargain with Sue

Derivation:

bargain (an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each)

bargain (an advantageous purchase)

bargainer (negotiator of the terms of a transaction)

bargaining (the negotiation of the terms of a transaction or agreement)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The three types were: local bargain retailer (three pairs for €1.50–€1.80); low-cost, fast-fashion international retailer (three pairs for €3.00–€4.50); and a higher-quality international retail clothing brand (three pairs for €6.95–€7.95).

(Nine out of ten pairs of baby socks on the market contain traces of bisphenol A and parabens, University of Granada)

His arguments were pointed with specie—we doing the punctuation—and with a little bargaining he told us what he knew.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

She hated calls of the formal sort, and never made any till Amy compelled her with a bargain, bribe, or promise.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Your eyes dwell on a Vulcan,—a real blacksmith, brown, broad-shouldered: and blind and lame into the bargain.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I bought one for her the other day, and it was pronounced to be a prodigious bargain by every lady who saw it.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

“I shall have nothing to think of then,” said the Doctor, with a smile, “but my Dictionary; and this other contract-bargain—Annie.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

We must not be nice and ask for all the virtues into the bargain.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

They appeared to be terrified at the prospect of repeating it, but the chief has patriarchal powers in these countries, and if the bargain is good in his eyes the clansman has little choice in the matter.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Fanny gave a quick negative, and tried to hide her interest in the subject by an eager attention to her brother, who was driving as hard a bargain, and imposing on her as much as he could; but Crawford pursued with No, no, you must not part with the queen.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

That my health was much impaired, by the continual drudgery of entertaining the rabble every hour of the day; and that, if my master had not thought my life in danger, her majesty would not have got so cheap a bargain.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)