haggle

1 of 2

verb

hag·​gle ˈha-gəl 

haggled; haggling ˈha-g(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to cut roughly or clumsily : hack

2

archaic : to annoy or exhaust with wrangling

intransitive verb

: bargain, wrangle

haggling over the price

haggler

ˈha-g(ə-)lər 

noun

haggle

2 of 2

noun

: an act of negotiating or arguing over the terms of a purchase, agreement, or contract : an instance of haggling or bargaining

a haggle over price

Synonyms

Verb

• negotiate
• deal
• bargain

Examples of haggle in a Sentence

Verb

She is good at haggling.

had to haggle to get his friend to sell his guitar for 20 bucks

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Long before air travel and a superpower summit, U.S. and Russian leaders haggled over Alaska. —Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025

As Arsenal and Lisbon’s Sporting haggled over add-ons, Gyokeres worked alone to build up his fitness. —James McNicholas, New York Times, 30 July 2025

The matriarch started smelling fruit, weighing the spiky samples with her hands and haggling with the seller. —Tom Downey, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 June 2025

Heimlich Community College has rejected her application for Budget and Finance director on the grounds that experience haggling in Saudi-eye Arabi-eyen flea markets is not the same as a master’s in economics, forcing Peggy to admit her career in academia is over. —Genevieve Koski, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

frequentative of hag to hew

First Known Use

Verb

1589, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun

1829, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for haggle

• gaggle
• straggle
• vagal

Kids Definition

haggle

verb

hag·​gle

ˈhag-əl

haggled; haggling

-(ə-)liŋ

: to dispute or argue especially in bargaining

haggle noun

haggler

-(ə-)lər

noun