bargain for
Britishverb
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Also, bargain over . Negotiate about something, usually a price. For example, In open-air markets it is standard practice to bargain for the best price . [Late 1300s]
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Also, bargain on . Expect, be prepared for, as in In planning the picnic, we hadn't bargained for bad weather , or I hadn't bargained on John's coming along . [c. 1800] For a synonym, see count on .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The risk is that a conflict drags on or spirals into something the U.S. didn’t bargain for.
“It would take a lot out of a person, even their own control over their magic. You were unable to demand a fair bargain for your gold. You couldn’t even name a price.”
From Literature
“It’s such a good bargain. For your gold, I shall give you …” He reached behind a stack of straw, and the whole pile shook, as though an animal was struggling to get out.
From Literature
Pooled employer plans are attractive to employers of all sizes because they offer professional management and can bargain for lower fees than many companies could get on their own, said Holly Verdeyen, U.S. defined contribution leader at Mercer.
What they didn’t bargain for were the animated actions of former D.C. cop Michael Fanone, who was in the chamber wearing a Dropkick Murphys T-shirt that read “Fighting Nazis Since 1996.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
