haggling
haggling — verb
1. the act of going back and forth with a seller, trying to settle on a lower price
the act of going back and forth with a seller, trying to settle on a lower price or better terms before agreeing to buy
Hugo spent twenty minutes haggling with the rug seller in the Marrakech market.
haggling with + person at a market
Rafael enjoys haggling over the price of used cars before signing any deal.
haggling over + noun (price / terms)
After hours of haggling, the two farmers finally agreed on a fair price for the tractor.
Tourists in Bangkok often try haggling, but locals usually know the real value of each item.
Yael walked away from the antique shop because she disliked haggling with strangers.
- bargaining
very close synonym; bargaining is slightly more neutral and used in formal settings (collective bargaining) as well as markets
- dickering
informal, mostly American; suggests petty back-and-forth over small sums
- negotiating
broader and more formal; covers contracts and treaties, not just street prices
- accepting the asking price
paying what the seller first quotes without trying to lower it
文法句型
haggle over + noun
haggle with + person
用法筆記
Subject is usually the buyer; the negotiated thing follows 'over' (price, terms, deal). Distinguish from sense noun/1: the verb-form 'haggling' as -ing describes the ongoing back-and-forth itself, while the noun form names a single occurrence of that activity.
常見錯誤
haggling — noun
1. an extended round of arguing or negotiating over the conditions of a sale, deal,
an extended round of arguing or negotiating over the conditions of a sale, deal, or contract before everyone settles on what is acceptable
The contract was signed only after weeks of haggling between the lawyers and the union.
after + period + of haggling between + parties
Folake refused to join the family haggling over how to divide her grandmother's jewelry.
haggling over + how-clause
There was a lot of haggling at the meeting before the two companies agreed on a delivery date.
The peace talks collapsed after months of haggling over a single border village.
Christopher grew tired of the constant haggling between the two business partners.
- bargaining
very close synonym; slightly more neutral, used for formal contexts like wage bargaining
- wrangling
stronger; implies more heated or angry argument, often political or legal
- horse-trading
informal; suggests political or strategic deals with mutual concessions, not just price
文法句型
haggling over + noun
after much haggling
用法筆記
Uncountable; usually appears with quantifiers like 'a lot of', 'months of', 'constant'. Distinct from verb/1 in that this names the activity as a thing (often a tedious or drawn-out one), while the verb form describes someone actively doing it.