treat
Americanverb (used with object)
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to act or behave toward (a person) in some specified way.
to treat someone with respect.
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to consider or regard in a specified way, and deal with accordingly.
to treat a matter as unimportant.
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to deal with (a disease, patient, etc.) in order to relieve or cure.
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to deal with in speech or writing; discuss.
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to deal with, develop, or represent artistically, especially in some specified manner or style.
to treat a theme realistically.
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to subject to some agent or action in order to bring about a particular result.
to treat a substance with an acid.
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to entertain; give hospitality to.
He treats diplomats in the lavish surroundings of his country estate.
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to provide food, entertainment, gifts, etc., at one's own expense.
Let me treat you to dinner.
verb (used without object)
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to deal with a subject in speech or writing; discourse.
a work that treats of the caste system in India.
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to give, or bear the expense of, a treat.
Is it my turn to treat?
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to carry on negotiations with a view to a settlement; discuss terms of settlement; negotiate.
noun
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entertainment, food, drink, etc., given by way of compliment or as an expression of friendly regard.
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anything that affords particular pleasure or enjoyment.
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the act of treating.
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one's turn to treat.
noun
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a celebration, entertainment, gift, or feast given for or to someone and paid for by another
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any delightful surprise or specially pleasant occasion
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the act of treating
verb
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(tr) to deal with or regard in a certain manner
she treats school as a joke
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(tr) to apply treatment to
to treat a patient for malaria
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(tr) to subject to a process or to the application of a substance
to treat photographic film with developer
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(tr; often foll by to) to provide (someone) (with) as a treat
he treated the children to a trip to the zoo
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formal to deal (with), as in writing or speaking
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formal (intr) to discuss settlement; negotiate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of treat
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb treten, from Old French tretier, traitier, from Latin tractāre “to drag, handle, treat,” frequentative of trahere “to drag”; see tract 1
Explanation
If you've been working hard and living thriftily for months on end, give yourself a treat: take the night off and go out to dinner and a movie. One sense of treat has to do with pleasures and special occasions. You might treat your mother to a pedicure, or give your dog a tasty treat. Treat can also mean "to carry on negotiations," (the meaning that feeds into treaty), or "to take care of." A doctor treats your illness with medication. If you treat a boy as an adult, that means you act as though he is one, even if he's only 16. Treat him carefully!
Vocabulary lists containing treat
National Nurses Week: Tasks and Equipment
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"Water at Work"
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"On the Menu" and "Find the Adaptations"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Treat charging like infrastructure—planned, permitted and powered—ahead of demand, and this time really can be different.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
For ordinary investors who might need their money back, take this mess as a warning shot: Treat private-credit allocations as genuinely illiquid, no matter what the marketing materials say.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026
"Treat every single visit to every house as if it's the most important visit, that was the message," Clayton said.
From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026
A third: Treat coordination as a big problem to solve all at once rather than little problems to solve in the moment.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2026
Treat Tea Cake like he was some mad dog when nobody in the world had more kindness about them.
From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
