to bargain down
1
4.0
- phrasal verb
- /ˈbɑrɡɪn daʊn/
:
regatear
- At best, the purchaser can bargain down the price so they aren't paying ridiculous profits, but what does that do to Company X?
- bargain down the price
Examples
-
After hours of negotiation, she bargained down the contractor's quote for home repairs.
-
And you bargained down my price?
-
We'll plea-bargain down to a lesser charge.
-
She was the only person I know who bargained down her own price.
Blog text (14) -
But it can't erase what you bargained down.
Blog text (16) -
She'd bargained down.
Fiction book (1996) -
He successfully bargained down the price of the bicycle from $200 to $150.
-
The buyer was pleased to have bargained down the furniture's price before finalizing the purchase.
Synonyms
103
2.4
To discuss the price or terms to get a better deal
13
1.8
To pay a lower price when you buy something
3
8.4
To bargain about a price before buying something
1
4.9
To get someone to sell something for a lower price
1
2.1
To tell a seller you want a lower price
Talk with someone to get a lower price or a better deal
To negotiate strongly to get a better price or better terms
Antonyms
How Low
- Informal
1
4.9
1
4.0
26
3.3
- Formal
801
3.7
1
2.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'bargain' (negotiate to reduce price) combined with 'down' (to lower) yields the idea of negotiating a lower price. This lowering-by-negotiation sense is common cross-linguistically and follows a standard verb+particle pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Bargain down comes from a market picture: bargain means to talk about the price and down means to make it lower, like a buyer pulling the price down while haggling. That's why bargain down means 'to get someone to accept a lower price'.