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Glite Dictionary
to bargain for

to bargain for

20 4.2
To have more difficulty or work than you expected
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈbɑrɡɪn fɔr/
translation icon : esperar
  • When I started training for the marathon, I realized it was a challenge much greater than I bargained for.
  • more than I bargained for
  • less than he bargained for
  • trouble than we bargained for

And you might get, you might get more than you bargained for.

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Examples

  • That choice cost me more than I bargained for.

    Jonah Hex (2010)

  • Life as I am now forced to live it is more than I bargained for back at the altar.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Three crazy women for five weeks is a lot more than I bargained for.

    The Homesman (2014)

  • I knew that this fight would be more than any of us were bargaining for.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The look on her face tells him it's more than he bargained for.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • "We got more than we bargained for," he told St. Ed.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Did the man get what he bargained for?

    Academic text (2018)

  • But one evening, he got a lot more adventure than he bargained for.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • He found more than he bargained for.

    America 3000 (1986)

  • You may find a pastime with greater meaning than you bargained for.

    Fiction book (1996)

Synonyms

to expect
vsto bargain for
∞ 1.0

To think that something will happen

is also about being ready for it especially if difficult or surprising
to prepare for
vsto bargain for
487 2.8

To make yourself ready in your mind for something unpleasant or difficult

also involves thinking it will happen not just getting ready
to anticipate
vsto bargain for
124 3.6

To feel excited or nervous about something that will happen

is more about being ready for it mentally rather than feeling eager
to brace oneself for
vsto bargain for
40 6.5

Get ready for something bad or difficult that you expect to happen

is thinking it will happen and also being mentally ready for it

How Likely

to count on
700 1.8
to expect
∞ 1.0
to bargain for
20 4.2
to anticipate
124 3.6
to suspect
925 3.6

Surface Forms

bargain for infinitive
bargained for past
bargained for past participle
bargaining for present participle
bargains for third person singular

Morphology

bargain + for

The sense 'to expect or be prepared for' is not directly derivable from the common meaning of 'bargain' (to negotiate) plus 'for', so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent meanings would likely not infer this sense without prior exposure. However, there is a partial compositional link—older/extended senses of 'bargain' can mean 'allow/arrange' and 'for' can signal consideration—making the relation somewhat predictable but not fully transparent.

Etymology

The phrasal verb bargain for comes from market bargaining: when you make a bargain you agree on a deal and plan to get something. So, if something is more than you bargained for, it was more than you planned, and the phrase now means 'to expect' or 'to be prepared for' something.