deed
Americannoun
-
something that is done, performed, or accomplished; an act.
Do a good deed every day.
-
an exploit or achievement; feat.
brave deeds.
-
Often deeds. an act or gesture, especially as illustrative of intentions, one's character, or the like.
Her deeds speak for themselves.
-
Law. a writing or document executed under seal and delivered to effect a conveyance, especially of real estate.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
something that is done or performed; act
-
a notable achievement; feat; exploit
-
action or performance, as opposed to words
-
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
-
deedsimple
-
deedssimple
-
have deededperfect
-
has deededperfect
-
am deedingprogressive
-
are deedingprogressive
-
is deedingprogressive
-
have been deedingperfect progressive
-
has been deedingperfect progressive
Past
-
deededsimple
-
had deededperfect
-
was deedingprogressive
-
were deedingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Back-Words: Palindromes
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Monkey's Paw," Vocabulary from the short story
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The cheaper option is by unenrolled deed poll, which a person can do by themselves or through a private company for a fee.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
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
Ms. Brown keeps yellowed documents from the farm’s early days, including the 1741 deed to the property from Lord Thomas Fairfax, who owned millions of acres in Virginia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 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
The terrors of the land beyond, and the deed to be done there, seemed remote, too far off yet to trouble him.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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
His real-life geniality provides a stark contrast to some of his most famous roles as monstrous men committing equally hideous deeds.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
"In Gaza, even those who dedicate their lives to helping others are not spared. But good deeds cannot be killed. They live on in the hearts of the people."
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
It may be that the number of beneficiary designations and transfer-on-death deeds preempted an official probate process.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Ours is but a small matter in the great deeds of this time.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
“We have Intracoastal access, seven boat slips, and private deeded beach access,” Cameron said.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 1, 2026
He was sentenced to probation for four years and deeded the property back to the town in 2014.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2025
Shortly before her death in 1944, Betty deeded the ranch to the state.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 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
“He has deeded me the house,” said Miss Love.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
I settled my father’s estate, but found a will deeding a mobile home to his stepson.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026
Many people spoke against the general idea of deeding public property to private interests, though none called for the statue’s removal.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 22, 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
He greets his colonists in the open one sunny August day, speaking personally to each and deeding over to them land free of all charge.
From Canada: the Empire of the North Being the Romantic Story of the New Dominion's Growth from Colony to Kingdom by Laut, Agnes C. (Agnes Christina)
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.
