deal

[ deel ]

/ dil /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deal ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), dealt, deal·ing.

to occupy oneself or itself (usually followed by with or in): Botany deals with the study of plants. He deals in generalities.

to take action with respect to a thing or person (followed by with): Law courts must deal with lawbreakers.

to conduct oneself toward persons: He deals fairly.

to be able to handle competently or successfully; cope (followed by with): I can't deal with your personal problems.

to trade or do business (followed by with or in): to deal with a firm; to deal in used cars.

to distribute, especially the cards in a game (often followed by out): to deal out five hands of six cards each; your turn to deal.

Slang. to buy and sell drugs illegally.

Archaic. to have dealings or commerce, often in a secret or underhand manner (often followed by with): to deal with the Devil.

verb (used with object), dealt, deal·ing.

to give to one as a share; apportion: Deal me in.

to distribute among a number of recipients, as the cards required in a game: Deal five cards to each player.

Cards. to give a player (a specific card) in dealing: You dealt yourself four aces.

to deliver; administer: to deal a blow.

Slang. to buy and sell (drugs) illegally.

Slang. to trade (an athlete) to another team.

noun

a business transaction: They closed the deal after a week of negotiating.

a bargain or arrangement for mutual advantage: the best deal in town.

a secret or underhand agreement or bargain: His supporters worked a number of deals to help his campaign.

Informal. treatment received in dealing with another: He got a raw deal.

an indefinite but large quantity, amount, extent, or degree (usually preceded by good or great): a good deal of work; a great deal of money.

Cards.

the distribution of cards to the players in a game.
the set of cards in one's hand.
the turn of a player to deal.
the period of time during which a deal is played.

an act of dealing or distributing.

(initial capital letter) an economic and social policy pursued by a political administration: the Fair Deal; the New Deal.

Obsolete. portion; share.

Verb Phrases

deal off,

Poker. to deal the final hand of a game.
Slang. to get rid of or trade (something or someone) in a transaction.

Nearby words

deafmutism, deafness, deak, deakin, deakin, alfred, deal, deal in, deal out, deal with, dealate, dealcoholization

Idioms

cut a deal, Informal. to make an agreement, especially a business agreement: Networks have cut a deal with foreign stations for an international hookup.

deal someone in, Slang. to include: He was making a lot of dough in the construction business so I got him to deal me in.

Origin of deal

before 900; (v.) Middle English delen, Old English dǣlan (cognate with German teilen), derivative of dǣl part (cognate with German Teil); (noun) in part derivative of the v.; (in defs 19, 23) Middle English deel, del(e), Old English dǣl

SYNONYMS FOR deal

3 act, behave.

5 traffic.

10 allot, assign, dole; mete, dispense.

16 pact, contract.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deal ON THESAURUS.COM

Definition for deal (2 of 2)

deal

[ deel ]

/ dil /

noun

a board or plank, especially of fir or pine, cut to any of various standard sizes.

such boards collectively.

fir or pine wood.

adjective

made of deal.

Origin of deal

1375–1425; late Middle English dele < Middle Low German or Middle Dutch; see thill

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for deal

“Personally, I deal with manners of righteousness and God,” he says.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Speculation raged that Duke agreed not to run as part of the deal, though it was never proven.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence|Jason Berry|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Her travel clique has been known to arrive at an airport, bags packed, passport-in-hand, within hours of spotting a deal.
‘We Out Here’: Inside the New Black Travel Movement|Charlise Ferguson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Parker tells of a new Texas struggling to deal with inequality.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Parker tells of a new Texas struggling to deal with diversity.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The deal shall be finished when every player has received five cards.
Round Games with Cards|W. H. Peel
When the time comes, later on, it may be possible for us to deal with him.
The Kingdom of the Blind|E. Phillips Oppenheim
The governorship of Theodore Roosevelt was marked by a deal of fine constructive legislation and administration.
Theodore Roosevelt and His Times|Harold Howland
The chapters in the same way often fail to finish the subject with which they deal, and sometimes include several subjects.
Study of Child Life|Marion Foster Washburne
When you find yourselves tempted, be sure to ask advice; and when you see another so, deal with him gently.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood

British Dictionary definitions for deal (1 of 3)

deal

/ (diːl) /

verb deals, dealing or dealt (dɛlt)

(intr foll by in) to engage (in) commerciallyto deal in upholstery

(often foll by out) to apportion (something, such as cards) to a number of people; distribute

(tr) to give (a blow) to (someone); inflict

(intr) slang to sell any illegal drug

noun

informal a bargain, transaction, or agreement

a particular type of treatment received, esp as the result of an agreementa fair deal

an indefinite amount, extent, or degree (esp in the phrases good or great deal)

cards

the process of distributing the cards
a player's turn to do this
a single round in a card game

See big deal

cut a deal informal, mainly US to come to an arrangement; make a dealSee also deal with

the real deal informal a person or thing seen as being authentic and not inferior in any way

Word Origin for deal

Old English dǣlan, from dǣl a part; compare Old High German teil a part, Old Norse deild a share

British Dictionary definitions for deal (2 of 3)

deal

/ (diːl) /

noun

a plank of softwood timber, such as fir or pine, or such planks collectively

the sawn wood of various coniferous trees, such as that from the Scots pine (red deal) or from the Norway Spruce (white deal)

adjective

of fir or pine

Word Origin for deal

C14: from Middle Low German dele plank; see thill

British Dictionary definitions for deal (3 of 3)

Deal

/ (diːl) /

noun

a town in SE England, in Kent, on the English Channel: two 16th-century castles: tourism, light industries. Pop: 96 670 (2003 est)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for deal (1 of 3)

deal

n.1

from Old English dæl "part, share, quantity, amount," from Proto-Germanic *dailaz (cf. Old Norse deild, Old Frisian del, Dutch deel, Old High German and German teil, Gothic dails "part, share"), from PIE *dail- "to divide" (cf. Old Church Slavonic delu "part," Lithuanian dalis).

Business sense of "transaction, bargain" is 1837, originally slang. Meaning "an amount" is from 1560s. New Deal is from F.D. Roosevelt speech of July 1932. Big deal is 1928; ironic use first recorded 1951 in "Catcher in the Rye." Deal breaker is attested by 1975.

Word Origin and History for deal (1 of 3)

deal

n.2

"plank or board of pine," c.1400, from Low German (cf. Middle Low German dele), from Proto-Germanic *theljon, from PIE root *tel- "ground, floor." An Old English derivative was þelu "hewn wood, board, flooring."

Word Origin and History for deal (2 of 3)

deal

Old English dælan "to divide, distribute, separate, share, bestow, dispense," from the source of deal (n.). Meaning "to distribute cards before a game" is from 1520s. To deal with "handle" is attested from mid-15c. Related: Dealt; dealing.

Idioms and Phrases with deal

deal

In addition to the idioms beginning with deal

deal in
deal out
deal with

also see:

big deal
close the sale (deal)
cut a deal
done deal
good deal
make a federal case (big deal)
no deal
raw deal
square deal
sweeten the kitty (deal)
wheel and deal

deal

verb (used without object), dealt, deal·ing.

verb (used with object), dealt, deal·ing.