split the difference
split the difference verb: in a financial transaction, to settle on an amount midway between the offer and the asking price.
Verb
split the difference (third-person singular simple present splits the difference, present participle splitting the difference, simple past and past participle split the difference)
- In a financial transaction, to settle on an amount midway between the offer and the asking price.
- "Come!" said Gamfield; "say four pound, gen'lmen. Say four pound, and you've got rid on him for good and all. There!"
"Three pound ten," repeated Mr. Limbkins, firmly.
"Come! I'll split the difference, gen'lmen," urged Gamfield. "Three pound fifteen."1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], chapter 3, in Oliver Twist; […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC - My new brother-in-law Allen told me I should ought to give the preist $5 and I thought it should be about $2 the same as the license so I split the difference and give him $3.50.1916, Ring Lardner, Sr., chapter 3, in You Know Me Al
- Synonyms:
- meet halfway
- "Come!" said Gamfield; "say four pound, gen'lmen. Say four pound, and you've got rid on him for good and all. There!"
- To choose an option or take a position roughly midway between two opposed alternatives; to compromise.
- Dolly suggested that they should meet at the club at 4 p.m. Sir Felix had named noon, and promised to call at Dolly's lodgings. They split the difference at last and agreed to start at two.1873 May 1 – December 22 (date written), Anthony Trollope, chapter 28, in The Way We Live Now. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Chapman and Hall, […], published June 1875, →OCLC
- Gulden appeared at a loss for an instant reply. "I want plenty to do," he replied, presently. "I want to be in on everything. I want to be free to kill a man when I like."
. . . "Gulden, I'll split the difference between us. I'll leave you free to do as you like. But all the others—every man—must...1916, Zane Grey, chapter 11, in The Border Legion
- Synonyms:
- meet halfway
split the difference meaning in Bengali
split the difference in Bengali
- আর্থিক লেনদেনে, আপস করা
Synonyms of split the difference
Forms of split the difference
| third-person singular present | splits the difference |
|---|---|
| present participle | splitting the difference |
| past participle | split the difference |
| past | split the difference |
Questions about split the difference
- What does split the difference mean?
- Split the difference means in a financial transaction, to settle on an amount midway between the offer and the asking price.
- What is split the difference in Bengali?
- Split the difference in Bengali is আর্থিক লেনদেনে, আপস করা. See Split the difference meaning in Bengali.
- What part of speech is split the difference?
- Split the difference is a verb.
- What is the past tense of split the difference?
- The past tense of split the difference is split the difference.
Words near split the difference in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: split the difference (page history and authors); split the difference (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-split the difference.ogg.
Cite this entry: “split the difference.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/split_the_difference. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.