bargaining chip
noun
: something that can be used to gain an advantage when trying to make a deal or an agreement
The workers used the threat of a strike as a bargaining chip in their negotiations.
Examples of bargaining chip in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Financial Times reported last week, citing two unnamed sources, that Chinese officials were mulling whether to withhold approval of Tesla’s FSD license as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations with Trump.
—
Juliana Liu, CNN, 27 Feb. 2025
Military analysts say the Ukrainian forces have since poured some of their best reserves into Kursk, hoping to use its conquest as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
—Ekaterina Bodyagina Nanna Heitmann, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025
Some experts believe that the antitrust investigation is likely to center around Google’s Android operating system for smartphones and used as a bargaining chip in the U.S.-China trade war.
—Zen Soo, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2025
There’s no disputing that his interactions with a high-level Communist Party official led to the release of a pregnant American citizen who’d been held by the Chinese government as a bargaining chip to force her U.S.-based mother, accused by Beijing of embezzlement, to return to the country.
—Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bargaining chip
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Juliana Liu, CNN, 27 Feb. 2025
Military analysts say the Ukrainian forces have since poured some of their best reserves into Kursk, hoping to use its conquest as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
—Ekaterina Bodyagina Nanna Heitmann, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025
Some experts believe that the antitrust investigation is likely to center around Google’s Android operating system for smartphones and used as a bargaining chip in the U.S.-China trade war.
—Zen Soo, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2025
There’s no disputing that his interactions with a high-level Communist Party official led to the release of a pregnant American citizen who’d been held by the Chinese government as a bargaining chip to force her U.S.-based mother, accused by Beijing of embezzlement, to return to the country.
—Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bargaining chip
Cite this Entry
“Bargaining chip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bargaining%20chip. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share