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

• bargain
• chaffer
• deal
• dicker
• horse-trade
• negotiate
• palter

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

Republicans, who hold a slim majority in Congress, are haggling with one another over cuts to popular provisions, including Medicaid and food stamps. —Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times, 15 May 2025

Street vendors and polo shirt-wearing tourists haggle over 1 euro refrigerator magnets bearing the face of the late Pope Francis. —Nbc News, NBC news, 7 May 2025

But as the last day of meetings begins, delegates are still haggling over the details of a possible shipping emissions tax. —Time, 11 Apr. 2025

In a major climbdown, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson was haggling over terms of a solution to a dispute with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) over her bipartisan proposal to allow lawmakers who recently became parents to vote remotely by proxy. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 4 Apr. 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