double-deal
Americanverb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of double-deal
First recorded in 1965–70
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:
Around a 1914 map of Europe, three to seven players representing different countries try to deal and double-deal their way to control of the Continent, using fleets, armies and entangling alliances.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
Still it's our dooty, an' of course we don't double-deal, nor put back kyards on what's our plain dooty.'
From Wolfville by Lewis, Alfred Henry
Not a bad legacy, considering George Downing is summarized by his biographer thus: “Liar, blackmailer, seducer and thief, this double-dealing shapeshifter would betray both friends and principles without a moment’s misgiving.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
When you’re spending money that’s not your own but that one day might be your inheritance, it sometimes feels like double-dealing, psychologically.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2025
His flamboyant personality struck a chord with the Italian electorate, which continued to back him despite allegations of corruption and double-dealing.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2023
A devotee of prevarication and double-dealing, Molière would have made the most, in three acts, of stories like these.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2023
He had no reason to feel like a miserable double-dealing villain.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
![]()
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.