Meaning & use
bargaining
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“bargaining” is a form of “bargain”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
noununcountable
Discussion between two sides aimed at agreeing the terms of a deal, such as a price or contract.
Grammar: Not used with an or in the plural: there was hard bargaining.
Patterns
- bargaining over something
- bargaining with someone
After long bargaining, they settled on a fair price.
The shopkeeper enjoyed the bargaining at the market.
Hard bargaining between the two sides lasted all night.
noununcountablebusiness
Talks between employers and workers' representatives about pay and conditions.
Grammar: Usually in collective bargaining.
Patterns
- collective bargaining
- bargaining table
Collective bargaining gave the nurses a pay increase.
The union returned to the bargaining table on Monday.
Wage bargaining is held every two years.
Common combinations
- collective bargaining
- Collective bargaining protects workers' pay.
- bargaining power
- A strong offer gave us more bargaining power.
- bargaining chip
- The land became a bargaining chip in the talks.
- hard bargaining
- Hard bargaining produced a deal.
- plea bargaining
- Plea bargaining is common in the justice system.
Synonyms and how they differ
- negotiation
- Negotiation is more formal and is used for serious talks, while bargaining suggests haggling over price.
- haggling
- Haggling is informal, and usually means arguing over the price of goods.
- dealing
- Dealing is wider and can mean any business or trade.
Word family
- bargain noun
- an agreement, or something cheap
- bargain verb
- to discuss terms of a deal
- bargainer noun
- a person who bargains
- bargain-hunter noun
- a person looking for cheap goods
Commonly confused: bargaining or bartering?
bargaining vs bartering
Bartering means swapping goods without money, while bargaining is discussing terms, usually of money.
Practice
The workers' union used collective ____ to win better pay.
Choose one answer.
Collective bargaining is the standard term for talks between unions and employers. Bartering is swapping goods, and the other options do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bargaining”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.