treat
to act or behave toward (a person) in some specified way: to treat someone with respect.
to consider or regard in a specified way, and deal with accordingly: to treat a matter as unimportant.
to deal with (a disease, patient, etc.) in order to relieve or cure.
to deal with in speech or writing; discuss.
to deal with, develop, or represent artistically, especially in some specified manner or style: to treat a theme realistically.
to subject to some agent or action in order to bring about a particular result: to treat a substance with an acid.
to entertain; give hospitality to: He treats diplomats in the lavish surroundings of his country estate.
to provide food, entertainment, gifts, etc., at one's own expense: Let me treat you to dinner.
to deal with a subject in speech or writing; discourse: a work that treats of the caste system in India.
to give, or bear the expense of, a treat: Is it my turn to treat?
to carry on negotiations with a view to a settlement; discuss terms of settlement; negotiate.
entertainment, food, drink, etc., given by way of compliment or as an expression of friendly regard.
anything that affords particular pleasure or enjoyment.
the act of treating.
one's turn to treat.
Origin of treat
1Other words from treat
- treater, noun
- non·treat·ed, adjective
- o·ver·treat, verb
- self-treated, adjective
- un·treat·ed, adjective
- well-treated, adjective
Words Nearby treat
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use treat in a sentence
Those treats ended up in the trunk of her car until she found them days later, smashed, and threw them away.
Inaugurations are highly anticipated events in D.C. Now people must watch from their couches. | Emily Davies | January 20, 2021 | Washington PostMessy, sticky, warm and sweet, s’mores are a treat that needs no recipe.
Have s’more fun with pretzels, caramel, toasted coconut and cookies | Daniela Galarza | January 12, 2021 | Washington PostYou can use this powder in shakes or consider it a substitute for flour the next time you want to bake a sweet treat, like cookies.
Best protein powder: Better nutrition in a bottle | Carsen Joenk | January 11, 2021 | Popular-ScienceCoffee and treats make up about half of the orders, but people are also using Manna to avoid making quick trips to the grocery store or when they don’t want to wait on Amazon.
With grocery store access limited during the pandemic, drone delivery offers a high-tech boost to business | Alyssa Newcomb | January 11, 2021 | FortuneBarkbox brings ’em a constant rotation of treats and toys, all tailored around each month’s theme, like “Dogsgiving” in November or “Lick or treat” back in October.
Gift Guide: Last-minute subscriptions to keep the gifts going all year | Greg Kumparak | December 23, 2020 | TechCrunch
Almost everyone there will be a decent person and treat you well.
Abramoff’s Advice for Virginia’s New Jailhouse Guv | Tim Mak, Jackie Kucinich | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTYazbek tells The Daily Beast that the traffickers guarantee their service, and they treat the Syrian refugees with respect.
When ‘Downton Abbey’ returns Sunday night, its fashion fans are in for a familiar treat.
This is Bey and Nicki at their most lyrically masochistic, and boy, is it a treat.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More | Marlow Stern | December 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTKoenig apologies for what she seems to treat as a sign of weakness.
Adnan Killed Her! No, Jay Did It! Serial’s Uncertain, True-to-Reality End | Emily Shire | December 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere is still a general tendency in universities on both sides of the Atlantic to treat propaganda as infection.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) WellsNot only are they required to do things in a proper orderly manner, but people have to treat them with due deference.
Children's Ways | James SullyRather blow out your own brains than treat with enmity those who are your liberators.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanYou could use some force to prevent him, you could not kill him, or put out his eyes, or treat him roughly.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesA car conductor is instructed to treat passengers civilly and to use no harsh means with them, save in extreme cases.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bolles
British Dictionary definitions for treat
/ (triːt) /
a celebration, entertainment, gift, or feast given for or to someone and paid for by another
any delightful surprise or specially pleasant occasion
the act of treating
(tr) to deal with or regard in a certain manner: she treats school as a joke
(tr) to apply treatment to: to treat a patient for malaria
(tr) to subject to a process or to the application of a substance: to treat photographic film with developer
(tr ; often foll by to) to provide (someone) (with) as a treat: he treated the children to a trip to the zoo
(intr usually foll by of) formal to deal (with), as in writing or speaking
(intr) formal to discuss settlement; negotiate
Origin of treat
1Derived forms of treat
- treatable, adjective
- treater, noun
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with treat
In addition to the idiom beginning with treat
- treat like dirt
also see:
- Dutch treat
- trick or treat
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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