Bargain — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb /ˈbär-gən/ bar·gain

Meaning & Definition of Bargain

Bargain (noun)

  1. an agreement between parties settling what each gives or receives in a transaction between them or what course of action or policy each pursues in respect to the other
  2. something acquired by or as if by negotiating over the terms of a purchase, agreement, or contract; especially, an advantageous purchase
  3. a transaction, situation, or event regarded in the light of its results

Bargain (verb)

  1. to negotiate over the terms of a purchase, agreement, or contract, haggle
  2. to engage in collective bargaining
  3. to come to terms, agree

Bargain (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. something bought or offered for sale at a desirable price

    "those shoes were a bargain because the store was going out of business"

    similar: buy, deal, pennyworth, snip (British), steal
    related: clearance, closeout, markdown, cheapie, bonus, freebie, gift, giveaway, premium, present, boon, windfall
    near: gouging, overcharge, rip-off, soaking, markup, surcharge, extravagance, luxury

  2. an arrangement about action to be taken

    "made a bargain that one would help the other next week"

    similar: accord, agreement, compact, contract, convention, covenant, deal, disposition, pact, settlement, understanding
    related: charter, treaty, binder, pledge, promise, alliance, association, entente, entente cordiale, league, partnership, acceptance, approval, assent, concurrence, consent, OK

Bargain (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to talk over or dispute the terms of a purchase

    "they bargained with the car salesman for half an hour before settling on a price"

    similar: chaffer, deal, dicker, haggle, horse-trade, negotiate, palter, cut a deal, wheel and deal
    related: argue, bicker, clash, fight, hassle, quarrel, quibble, squabble, wrangle, comparison shop, shop (around), barter, exchange, trade, hawk, peddle, buy, purchase

  2. to come to an arrangement as to a course of action

    "I really hadn't bargained on buying a whole case of Girl Scout cookies, just a couple of boxes"

    similar: agree, contract, covenant, come to terms, strike a bargain
    related: come around, come round, subscribe, underwrite, arrange, settle
    opposite: disagree
    near: differ, dissent, cancel, renege, revoke, argue, contest, dispute, object

  3. to bring about through discussion and compromise

    "bargained the price of the painting down to a figure that the artist could still live with"

    similar: arrange, concert, conclude, negotiate
    related: settle (on or upon), chaffer, deal, dicker, haggle, horse-trade, palter, agree, contract, covenant, argue, debate, discuss, hammer out, hash (over), reason, talk, talk over, work out, renegotiate

Related Entry: Bargain-basement (adjective)

Bargain-basement is a different word from Bargain. The synonyms below are for bargain-basement, not for bargain.

  1. costing little

    "throughout the trip we ate at bargain-basement restaurants in order to save money"

    similar: affordable, budget, cheap, cheapie, cheapo, chintzy, cut-price (chiefly British), cut-rate, dime-store, dirt cheap, el cheapo, inexpensive, low, low-end, popular, reasonable
    related: cheapish, moderate, discount, discounted, fire-sale, lowered, reduced, wholesale, valueless, worthless, supercheap, ultracheap
    opposite: costly, dear, deluxe, expensive, high, high-ticket, precious, premium, pricey, spendy (chiefly Northwest), valuable
    near: increased, inflated, exorbitant, extravagant, overpriced, prohibitive, prohibitory, steep, stiff, superexpensive, ultraexpensive, unreasonable, invaluable, priceless, luxurious

  2. of low quality

    "bargain-basement shoes that fell apart after a week"

    similar: bad, bum, cheap, cheapjack, cheesy, coarse, common, crappy (slang), cut-rate, el cheapo, execrable, gimcrack, inferior, junky, lousy, low-grade, low-rent, mediocre, miserable, poor, rotten, rubbishy, schlock, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, terrible, trashy, trumpery, wretched
    related: useless, valueless, worthless, indifferent, lackluster, second-class, brummagem, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, kitsch, kitschy, meretricious, ostentatious, showy, splashy, swank, tawdry, seedy, shabby, tacky, counterfeit, fake, phony, sham, supercheap, ultracheap
    opposite: excellent, fine, first-class, first-rate, good, high-grade, superior, top-notch
    near: elegant, handsome, tasteful, handcrafted, polished, refined

Related Entry: Bargain (with) (verb)

Bargain (with) is a different word from Bargain. The synonyms below are for bargain (with), not for bargain.

  1. as in palter (with), horse-trade (with)

    similar: chaffer (with), horse-trade (with), palter (with), barter (for), deal (for), dicker (over), exchange (for), haggle (for), negotiate (about), trade (for), bid, offer, finance, pay (for), spring (for), rebuy, repurchase, acquire, gain, garner, get, obtain, procure, secure, win, buy, cop (slang), pick up, purchase, take
    opposite: deal (in), market, merchandise, retail, sell, vend

Related Entry: Into the bargain (phrase)

Into the bargain is a different word from Bargain. The synonyms below are for into the bargain, not for bargain.

  1. in addition to what has been said

    "She earns an hourly wage, and a shift meal into the bargain."

    similar: additionally, again, also, besides, either, further, furthermore, likewise, more, moreover, then, too, withal, yet, as well, for good measure, in addition to, on top of, to boot, what's more

Related Entry: Strike a bargain (phrase)

Strike a bargain is a different word from Bargain. The synonyms below are for strike a bargain, not for bargain.

  1. to come to an arrangement as to a course of action

    "We were able to strike a bargain with the seller."

    similar: agree, bargain, contract, covenant, come to terms
    related: come around, come round, subscribe, underwrite, arrange, settle
    opposite: disagree
    near: differ, dissent, cancel, renege, revoke, argue, contest, dispute, object

Related Entry: Struck a bargain (phrase)

Struck a bargain is a different word from Bargain. The synonyms below are for struck a bargain, not for bargain.

  1. to come to an arrangement as to a course of action

    "We were able to strike a bargain with the seller."

    similar: agreed, bargained, contracted, covenanted, came to terms
    related: came around, came round, subscribed, underwrote, arranged, settled
    opposite: disagreed
    near: differed, dissented, canceled, reneged, revoked, argued, contested, disputed, objected

Related Entry: Strikes a bargain (phrase)

Strikes a bargain is a different word from Bargain. The synonyms below are for strikes a bargain, not for bargain.

  1. to come to an arrangement as to a course of action

    "We were able to strike a bargain with the seller."

    similar: agrees, bargains, contracts, covenants, comes to terms
    related: comes around, comes round, subscribes, underwrites, arranges, settles
    opposite: disagrees
    near: differs, dissents, cancels, reneges, revokes, argues, contests, disputes, objects

Related Entry: Striking a bargain (phrase)

Striking a bargain is a different word from Bargain. The synonyms below are for striking a bargain, not for bargain.

  1. to come to an arrangement as to a course of action

    "We were able to strike a bargain with the seller."

    similar: agreeing, bargaining, contracting, covenanting, coming to terms
    related: coming around, coming round, subscribing, underwriting, arranging, settling
    opposite: disagreeing
    near: differing, dissenting, canceling, reneging, revoking, arguing, contesting, disputing, objecting

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Bargain

The most common words with a similar meaning to Bargain:

British: snip
buy, deal, pennyworth, steal, accord, agreement, compact, contract, convention, covenant, disposition, pact, settlement, understanding, chaffer, dicker, haggle, horse-trade, negotiate, palter, agree, arrange, concert, conclude, cut a deal, wheel and deal, come to terms, strike a bargain

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Bargain

Words with the opposite meaning of Bargain:

disagree

Related Words for Bargain

clearance, closeout, markdown, cheapie, bonus, freebie, gift, giveaway, premium, present, boon, windfall, charter, treaty, binder, pledge, promise, alliance, association, entente, entente cordiale, league, partnership, acceptance, approval, assent, concurrence, consent, OK, argue

Near Antonyms of Bargain

gouging, overcharge, rip-off, soaking, markup, surcharge, extravagance, luxury, differ, dissent, cancel, renege, revoke, argue, contest, dispute, object

Word Forms of Bargain

Inflections: bargained, bargaining, bargains

Derived words: bargainer (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Bargain

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from bargaigner

First known use: 14th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Bargain

  • Topics: Shopping & Money

Words & Phrases Containing Bargain

bargain-basement, bargain basement, bargain for, bargain away, into the bargain, drive a hard bargain, keep one's side of the bargain, strike a bargain

Frequently Asked Questions about Bargain

What does "Bargain" mean?

"Bargain" means an agreement between parties settling what each gives or receives in a transaction between them or what course of action or policy each pursues in respect to the other. As an a noun and a verb, it is defined as: an agreement between parties settling what each gives or receives in a transaction between them or what course of action or policy each pursues in respect to the other. It has 5 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Bargain"?

Other words for "Bargain" include buy, deal, pennyworth, snip, steal, accord, agreement and compact. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Bargain" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Bargain"?

There are 90 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Bargain". Common alternatives include buy, deal, pennyworth, snip, steal, accord, agreement, compact, contract and convention.

What is the opposite of "Bargain"?

Antonyms of "Bargain" include disagree. Near antonyms include gouging, overcharge, rip-off and soaking.

How do you use "Bargain" in a sentence?

Examples of "Bargain" in a sentence: "those shoes were a bargain because the store was going out of business"; "made a bargain that one would help the other next week"; "they bargained with the car salesman for half an hour before settling on a price".

Is "Bargain" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Bargain" can be used as a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Bargain"?

"Bargain" is pronounced /ˈbär-gən/ and divided into syllables as bar·gain.

What is the origin of the word "Bargain"?

"Bargain" comes from Middle English, from Anglo-French, from bargaigner. First known use: 14th century.