bargains

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of bargain.

   Savvy shoppers hunt for bargains during the post-holiday clearances.

   The two governments struck several bargains over trade and security.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs: the plural noun here, and the present-tense verb in "she bargains hard." A determiner or adjective in front (two bargains, real bargains) marks the noun. In the plural, the shopper's meaning (goods bought well below the usual price) and the negotiator's meaning (agreements or pledges between parties) both count naturally, so context alone decides which kind of bargains are meant.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of bargain.

   Every spring, the union bargains with management over wages and hours.

   A seasoned trader bargains fiercely before settling on a price.

   Note

   Usually intransitive: someone bargains with another party over terms, and the thing at stake goes in a with- or over-phrase rather than as a direct object. A less common transitive use takes the goods themselves as object, meaning to barter or trade them for something in return. The -s ending marks a single present-tense subject, whether a person, a union or a government.

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