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• deal
  deal

  noun

  a business transaction.
• Deal
  Deal

  noun

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

deal

¹ American  

[deel] / dil /

noun

1. a business transaction.

   They closed the deal after a week of negotiating.

2. a bargain or arrangement for mutual advantage.

   the best deal in town.

   Synonyms:

   contract, pact

3. a secret or underhanded agreement or bargain.

   His supporters worked a number of deals to help his campaign.

4. Informal. treatment received in an interaction or arrangement with another.

   He got a raw deal.

5. an indefinite but large quantity, amount, extent, or degree (usually preceded by good orgreat ).

   a good deal of work;

   a great deal of money.

6. Cards.

   1. the distribution of cards to the players in a game.

   2. the set of cards in one's hand.

   3. the turn of a player to distribute the cards to the players.

   4. the period of time during which a hand, or set of cards, is played.

7. an act of handing out or distributing.

8. (initial capital letter) an economic and social policy pursued by a political administration.

   the Fair Deal;

   the New Deal;

   the Green New Deal.

9. Obsolete. portion; share.

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verb (used without object)

• deals,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dealt,
  past participle,  past
• dealing
  present participle

1. to occupy oneself or itself (usually followed by with orin ).

   Botany deals with the study of plants.

   He deals in generalities.

2. to take action with respect to a thing or person (followed bywith ).

   Law courts must deal with lawbreakers.

3. to conduct oneself toward persons.

   He deals fairly.

   Synonyms:

   behave, act

4. to be able to handle competently or successfully; cope (followed bywith ).

   I can't deal with your personal problems.

5. to trade or do business (followed by with orin ).

   to deal with a firm;

   to deal in used cars.

   Synonyms:

   traffic

6. to distribute, especially the cards in a game (often followed byout ): It's your turn to deal.

   She dealt out five hands of six cards each.

   It's your turn to deal.

7. Slang. to buy and sell drugs illegally.

8. Archaic. to have dealings or commerce, often in a secret or underhanded manner (often followed bywith ).

   to deal with the Devil.

verb (used with object)

• deals,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dealt,
  past participle,  past
• dealing
  present participle

1. to give to one as a share; apportion.

   Deal me in.

2. to distribute among a number of recipients, as the cards required in a game.

   Deal five cards to each player.

   Synonyms:

   dispense, mete, dole, assign, allot

3. Cards. to give a player (a specific card) in dealing.

   You dealt yourself four aces.

4. to deliver (an action or a judgment) on or upon someone; administer: Did you see the cat dealing a blow to a dog five times its size?

   As a repeat offender, she can expect to be dealt a harsh sentence.

   Did you see the cat dealing a blow to a dog five times its size?

5. Slang. to buy and sell (drugs) illegally.

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

verb phrase

1. deal off

   1. Poker. to deal the final hand of a game.

   2. Slang. to get rid of or trade (something or someone) in a transaction.

idioms

1. deal someone in, to include.

   He was making a lot of dough in the construction business so I got him to deal me in.

2. seal the deal. see seal the deal.

3. cut a deal, to make an agreement, especially a business agreement.

   Networks have cut a deal with foreign stations for an international hookup.

deal ² American  

[deel] / dil /

noun

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

2. such boards collectively.

3. fir or pine wood.

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adjective

1. made of deal.

deal ¹ British  

/ diːl /

verb

1. to engage (in) commercially

   to deal in upholstery

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

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

4. slang (intr) to sell any illegal drug

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noun

1. informal a bargain, transaction, or agreement

2. a particular type of treatment received, esp as the result of an agreement

   a fair deal

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

4. cards

   1. the process of distributing the cards

   2. a player's turn to do this

   3. a single round in a card game

5. See big deal

6. informal to come to an arrangement; make a deal See also deal with

7. informal a person or thing seen as being authentic and not inferior in any way

deal ² British  

/ diːl /

noun

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

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

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adjective

1. of fir or pine

Deal ³ British  

/ diːl /

noun

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

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deal More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing deal

• 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

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• dealing
  present
• dealt
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• deal
  simple
• deals
  simple
• have dealt
  perfect
• has dealt
  perfect
• am dealing
  progressive
• are dealing
  progressive
• is dealing
  progressive
• have been dealing
  perfect progressive
• has been dealing
  perfect progressive

Past

• dealt
  simple
• had dealt
  perfect
• was dealing
  progressive
• were dealing
  progressive
• had been dealing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will deal
  simple
• will have dealt
  perfect
• will be dealing
  progressive
• will have been dealing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of deal¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English verb delen, dalen, dealen “to separate, divide, share, have dealings,” Old English dǣlan (cognate with German teilen “to divide, share”), derivative of dǣl “part, portion” (cognate with German Teil ); Middle English noun del, dæl, deal, Old English dǣl; in part derivative of the verb

Origin of deal²

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English dele, dile, from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch dele; see thill

Explanation

"Let's make a deal," a friend might say to you. That means he wants to make an agreement on something. If you pay for the gas, for example, he'll pay for the food. What a deal! Ready to deal with all the meanings of the word deal?! You can deal a deck of cards. You can make a business deal. You can strike a deal. You can try to deal with an unfortunate situation. You can score a deal in the bargain basement. Deal comes from the Old English dǣlan, meaning "divide" and "participate."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deal Deal deals dealt dealing

Coplan’s push to make Polymarket a household name led to expensive deals with A-list celebrities and sports stars, including LeBron James and a $300 million deal with Major League Baseball.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

UJC organisers have signed an exclusive multi-year deal with Wembley, and Yormark says other Big 12 colleges are interested in playing in London.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

It shines fresh light on the land deal given to the museum by the state of California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the deal recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

Ruth’s explanation was clear and detailed, “The Fox girls have been a great deal at my house and for about two years I was a very sincere believer in the rappings.”

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Dover and Deal MP Mike Tapp told the BBC the incident was causing "absolutely awful disruption" for residents.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Appeared in the September 3, 2026, print edition as 'Oil Deal Is No Quick Fix for Gas Prices'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

“The Green Deal had been a central focus of Europe,” said Daniel Yergin, a veteran energy historian and vice chairman of S&P Global.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

As I recounted in my book “The New Deal: A Modern History,” Smith’s keynote speech at the league gala was broadcast on a national radio hookup.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

His endorsement of the New Deal was sought after and given, providing black Americans with new influence in Washington.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

The Fair Games Coalition, which is made up of over 80 organizations, formed to fight for better labor deals during major events like the Super Bowl and the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

Coplan’s push to make Polymarket a household name led to expensive deals with A-list celebrities and sports stars, including LeBron James and a $300 million deal with Major League Baseball.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Still, while the company has scored a number of deals with hyperscalers and AI companies, those deals haven’t yet markedly increased its revenue, noted Ishan Majumdar, an analyst at Baptista Research, a financial advisory.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

Some of them used credit deals arranged by the fraudsters or expensive payday loans to make the upfront payment.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Nansi was one of her favorite story topics—she’d tell me about the trickster god cutting deals, bending the rules, and weaving schemes as intricate as a spiderweb between tree branches.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

However, two retired officers, each of whom has dealt with space security, disagree.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

He has likely dealt with and even enabled this dynamic since they were children, which is why he is either unwilling or unable to find a way to push back.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

The bankruptcy also dealt them a major financial setback, which ultimately prompted them to pivot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The spokesperson said that 94% of complaints are "being dealt with at the earliest possible stage without the need for further involvement from the consumer body".

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Before he dealt with that problem there was still the common land to be crossed.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

He’s dealing with injuries to his left knee and right biceps.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Bryan is dealing with relationship problems that add to the urgency of his desire to survive, but he’s also just a dude with questionable self-preservation instincts, which makes for a good adventure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has cautioned against speculation, saying investigators were dealing with what appeared, at this stage, to be "quite distinct, separate events".

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

The same thing is happening at Iran’s land borders with Turkey, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, dealing Tehran a self-inflicted blow and throttling trade through its few remaining economic release valves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

She put down the potato and mimed shuffling and dealing a hand of cards.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• accord
• arrangement
• compromise
• contract
• pact
• pledge
• transaction