deed

American  

[deed] / did /

noun

• deeds
  plural

1. something that is done, performed, or accomplished; an act.

   Do a good deed every day.

2. an exploit or achievement; feat.

   brave deeds.

3. Often deeds. an act or gesture, especially as illustrative of intentions, one's character, or the like.

   Her deeds speak for themselves.

4. Law. a writing or document executed under seal and delivered to effect a conveyance, especially of real estate.

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verb (used with object)

• deeds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deeded,
  past participle,  past
• deeding
  present participle

1. to convey or transfer by deed.

deed British  

/ diːd /

noun

1. something that is done or performed; act

2. a notable achievement; feat; exploit

3. action or performance, as opposed to words

4. law a formal legal document signed, witnessed, and delivered to effect a conveyance or transfer of property or to create a legal obligation or contract

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verb

1. (tr) to convey or transfer (property) by deed

Synonym Usage

See action.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• redeed
  verb (used with object)
• deedless
  adjective
• undeeded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• deeds
  plural

Participles

• deeding
  present
• deeded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• deed
  simple
• deeds
  simple
• have deeded
  perfect
• has deeded
  perfect
• am deeding
  progressive
• are deeding
  progressive
• is deeding
  progressive
• have been deeding
  perfect progressive
• has been deeding
  perfect progressive

Past

• deeded
  simple
• had deeded
  perfect
• was deeding
  progressive
• were deeding
  progressive
• had been deeding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will deed
  simple
• will have deeded
  perfect
• will be deeding
  progressive
• will have been deeding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of deed

before 900; Middle English dede, Old English dēd, variant of dǣd; cognate with German Tat, Gothic gadēths; see do ¹

Explanation

A deed is an action that you perform with intent, like turning in a lost wallet you find in a store. Definitely a good deed. The word deed is often used to describe acts of charity but an action doesn’t have to be good to be called a deed — people go to jail for their criminal deeds. Either way, a deed is something done on purpose. It could be difficult, as anyone who after breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend later told friends, "I did the deed," will know. An unrelated meaning of deed is a legal document that shows who owns a building or land.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deed deeds deeded deeding

Caltrans staff will next record the deed transferring the title from the state of California to Kai Poma, which is expected to happen any day, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026

Then, once the deed was done, “I made a TikTok video where I’m like, ‘Hey, bald people, I hope you embrace me,’” Capron, 32, said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

My father put my brother on the deed to his house.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

That it hasn’t seems ironic, given that the Christian ideal of Jesus is in both word and deed a seeker of justice.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026

In exchange, they took the deed to all the khan’s fields.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

"Her love was obvious and was not just words, but deeds and actions that she would display every day."

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

To meet the five-year rule, Medicaid generally requires five years of bank-account statements, reverse mortgage records and property deeds.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Other important information to assemble: deeds, wills, insurance policies, passwords.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

Hiddleston notes that “one great gift of Pompeii is that the Romans didn’t have paper, so the walls, the columns, the houses, the public buildings are covered in writing: deeds, business contracts, advertisements, gossip, doodles.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

No longer content to read about the brave deeds of others, he had forged himself a helmet and mounted a nag.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

If this property is indeed still titled in your parents’ names, and was never actually deeded to the trust, it could still be a probate asset under the executor’s control.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 30, 2026

Rogers’ widow, Betty, deeded the ranch to the state just before her own death in 1944.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025

He was sentenced to probation for four years and deeded the property back to the town in 2014.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2025

The property years ago was deeded to the National Park Service, which one day plans to turn it into a museum.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2023

A Boston philanthropist had deeded to Hampton Institute a former plantation named Shellbanks Farm, which served as an agricultural laboratory for Negro and Indian students at the school.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

I settled my father’s estate, but found a will deeding a mobile home to his stepson.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026

Most of the people who spoke against deeding the statue, though, said they want to see it remain in place under public ownership.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2022

The deeding of the land, which was given to the commonwealth in the 19th century, was a request from the city so that the parcel could come under local control, Yarmosky said.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 5, 2021

More precisely, I thought about Lincoln signing a minor piece of legislation deeding the Yosemite Valley to the state of California.

From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2019

Well, I come back at you by deeding the Circle C to my girl and taking up the Del Oro homestead.

From Crooked Trails and Straight by D. C. Hutchison

Related Words

• accomplishment
• act
• action
• adventure
• fact
• feat
• reality
• truth