# Word of the Day

: November 23, 2024## negotiate

play## What It Means

To negotiate is to discuss something formally in order to make an agreement. *Negotiate* can also mean, when applied to people or things in motion, "to get through, around, or over successfully."

// The parties *negotiated* an agreement.

// The trail is designed for an experienced skier who can *negotiate* unpredictable terrain.

## negotiate in Context

"Once in relationships, millennials are keen to protect their personal interests—a change reflected in their embrace of prenuptial agreements, the unprecedentedly high rates at which they maintain separate bank accounts, and even in the way they *negotiate* domestic affairs and disputes." — Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman, *What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice*, 2024

## Did You Know?

*Negotiate* found its way into the English language from the Latin verb *negōtiārī*, meaning "to do business, trade, or deal." Since its arrival, this word has developed a variety of applications. The "doing business" sense is still going strong: in addition to its most common use in situations where formal decisions (such as a price to be paid) are made by way of discussion, *negotiate* is also used to talk about the transfer or conversion of money, as in the phrase "negotiate a check." *Negotiate* has applications outside of commerce, too; it is sometimes used to mean "to successfully travel along or over," as when a cyclist is said to "negotiate mountainous terrain."