Haggle Meaning
/ˈhæɡəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo argue for a better deal, especially over prices with a seller.
verbTo hack (cut crudely)
Sentence Examples
Don't haggle over a small sum of money.
We can haggle over price later.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the traditional bazaar, merchants and customers ____ about the cost of goods.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is common practice for tourists to ____ with the local merchants in the market to get a better price for souvenirs.
Word Origin & History
1570s, "to cut unevenly" (implied in haggler), frequentative of Middle English haggen (“to chop”), variant of hacken (“to hack”), equivalent to hack + -le. Sense of "argue about price" first recorded c.1600, probably from notion of chopping away.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"‘I am pretty useless at haggling. Haggling means asking the seller to sell stuff below the asking price.’"
— 2020, Abi Daré, The Girl With The Louding Voice, Sceptre, page 184:
"Last month, while officials from Washington and Beijing were haggling over whether to roll back tariffs that had brought their trade to a standstill, Chinese companies announced plans to invest about $4.7 billion in Brazil."
— 2025 June 20, Meaghan Tobin, “Chinese Companies Set Their Sights on Brazil”, in The New York Times:
"Suffolk first died, and York, all haggled o'er, / Comes to him, where in gore he lay insteeped."
— 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vi]:
"I catched a catfish and haggled him open with my saw, and towards sundown I started my camp fire and had supper. Then I set out a line to catch some fish for breakfast."
— 1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the traditional bazaar, merchants and customers ____ about the cost of goods.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is common practice for tourists to ____ with the local merchants in the market to get a better price for souvenirs.