deed
Americannoun
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deeds
plural
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something that is done, performed, or accomplished; an act.
Do a good deed every day.
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an exploit or achievement; feat.
brave deeds.
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Often deeds. an act or gesture, especially as illustrative of intentions, one's character, or the like.
Her deeds speak for themselves.
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Law. a writing or document executed under seal and delivered to effect a conveyance, especially of real estate.
verb (used with object)
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deeds,
present (3rd person singular)
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deeded,
past participle, past
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deeding
present participle
noun
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something that is done or performed; act
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a notable achievement; feat; exploit
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action or performance, as opposed to words
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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
verb
Synonym Usage
See action.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deedsimple
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deedssimple
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have deededperfect
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has deededperfect
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am deedingprogressive
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are deedingprogressive
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is deedingprogressive
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have been deedingperfect progressive
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has been deedingperfect progressive
Past
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deededsimple
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had deededperfect
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was deedingprogressive
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were deedingprogressive
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had been deedingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing deed
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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Back-Words: Palindromes
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"The Monkey's Paw," Vocabulary from the short story
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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.
See Examples For:
It will not have its own address, tax parcel or deed.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
An ill homeowner can file a quitclaim deed to get their name off a jointly owned property, or if they are the sole owner, they can transfer the deed to another person.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Officials contend the discrepancy between the computer count and the paper tally is “a good deed that went punished” — the result of exhausted officials being handed an extra-credit project they couldn’t quite execute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Every deed and flood map, every blue dot on every phone originates from it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
‘Is there no deed to do?’ she said.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Soprano Lise Davidsen was a mercurial Lady Macbeth, pushing her husband into dark deeds yet with more sides to her than her steely, ringing high notes would suggest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
It wasn't just their deeds on the pitch that felt otherworldly, though.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Every year new movies and TV shows dramatising Mao's life beam the message of his great deeds to public.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Buckingham’s office is now surveying state tracts in the area and “conducting a thorough review of relevant titles and deeds to better determine the location and extent of any potential trespass,” she added.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
And thus he has always accomplished and organized great deeds, that have always kept the minds of his subjects surprised, amazed, and occupied with their outcome.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
Keys come with deeded ownership to a sliver of non-buildable beachfront; they often stay in the same family for generations, though a handful sell on the open market each year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
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
The conservancy believes that the deer removal effort is consistent with the vision of the Wrigley family, who bought up much of the island in 1919 and later deeded it to the conservancy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
Armed Puyallup activists occupy Cushman Hospital in Tacoma for a week and succeed in getting it deeded to the tribe.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 14, 2024
Lillian spoke of the Old South when Bull was in earshot as though it were a private garden deeded to her in a last heroic proclamation by the Confederate Congress.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
“I’m wondering, have you ever planned on deeding any of your personal property or property of the Smithsonian to any of these tribes?” he asked Hartig.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
I settled my father’s estate, but found a will deeding a mobile home to his stepson.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026
County supervisors have spent all year teasing the idea of deeding the monument to a private group after the SCV offered to take it on.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2022
His chairmanship was a capstone of a long career serving his people, particularly as a spokesperson for his tribe and point man on deeding the tribe’s first land into trust and developing a casino.
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2022
Next, he demonstrated how crazy he really was, by deeding over to his family, unsolicited, the ten acres on Tarwater Flat, the house, barn, outbuildings, and water-rights.
From The Red One by Jack London
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.
