deal with

phrasal verb

dealt with; dealing with; deals with

: to be about (something) : to have (something) as a subject

Her speech dealt with health care and the nation's economy.

The film deals with some serious issues.

: to make business agreements with (someone)

He deals fairly with all his customers.

Their salespeople are very easy to deal with.

: to do something about (a person or thing that causes a problem or difficult situation)

The government dealt harshly with the rebels.

I'll deal with you later.

We weren't able/equipped/prepared to deal with such a large crowd of people.

: to accept or try to accept (something that is true and cannot be changed)

She's still trying to deal with his death.

The weather is bad, but we'll just have to deal with it.

Examples of deal with in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Hundreds of structures are flooded, and more are dealing with power outages. —

CBS News, 4 May 2024 Marana and Tucson each have two treatment plants that deal with PFAS. —

Clara Migoya, The Arizona Republic, 4 May 2024 Others celebrated after striking deals with their universities to peacefully end the protests. —

Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 4 May 2024 One month before that deal with her killer, Tricia Todd was living in Hobe Sound, Florida – a quiet town of around 1,300 residents on the east coast of the state, about 40 minutes north of Palm Beach. —

Kelly Heinzerling, ABC News, 3 May 2024 As usual, the Hornets have plenty of decisions to make during another crucial offseason, particularly on how to improve their bench depth so they aren’t so undermanned when dealing with injuries. —

Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 3 May 2024 Topping it with a fried egg seemed like a good way to get a protein boost, but even then that only gave me six extra grams of the stuff, and kind of defeated the whole goal of not having any dirty dishes to deal with in the a.m. —

Audrey Bruno, SELF, 3 May 2024 Beckham, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who has started 97 NFL games, plans to sign a one-year deal with the Dolphins that will pay him a base salary of $3 million, but features $5.25 million in incentives, according to a league source. —

Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024 The song, Lambert’s first release under her new deal with Republic Records, features vocals from Audra Mae, and was written by Mae, Evan McKeever, and Ryan Carpenter. —

Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 3 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deal with.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.