1
: to concern oneself or itself
The book deals with education.
a lawyer who deals with real estate law
2
a
: to take action with regard to someone or something
deal with an offender
Who's going to deal with this mess?
b
: to reach or try to reach a state of acceptance or reconcilement
trying to deal with her son's death
3
card games
: to distribute the cards to players
your turn to deal
4
business
a
: to sell or distribute something as a business
deal in insurance
b
: to engage in bargaining : trade
1
a
card games
: to distribute (playing cards) to players
Deal the cards.
b
: to give as one's portion : apportion
dealt out three sandwiches apiece
a judge dealing out punishments
2
: administer, deliver
dealt him a blow
1
business
a
: an act of dealing (see deal entry 1 sense 4) : transaction
big corporate deals
a real estate deal
b
: contract sense 1a
signed a 2-year deal
c
: bargain
got a great deal on a new TV
accepted a plea deal
2
: an arrangement for mutual advantage
kept his side of the deal
3
: treatment received
a dirty deal
5
: mccoy
—used in the phrase the real deal
6
: affair sense 2
Dinner was an informal deal.
7
1
: a usually large or indefinite quantity or degree
a great deal of support
a good deal faster
2
card games
a
: the act or right of distributing cards to players
It's your deal.
b
: hand sense 7b
have time for one more deal
Synonyms
Verb
Noun (1)
- accord
- agreement
- bargain
- compact
- contract
- convention
- covenant
- disposition
- pact
- settlement
- understanding
Noun (2)
- abundance
- barrel
- basketful
- boatload
- bucket
- bunch
- bundle
- bushel
- carload
- chunk
- dozen
- fistful
- gobs
- good deal
- heap
- hundred
- lashings [chiefly British]
- lashins
- loads
- lot
- mass
- mess
- mountain
- much
- multiplicity
- myriad
- oodles
- pack
- passel
- peck
- pile
- plateful
- plenitude
- plentitude
- plenty
- pot
- potful
- profusion
- quantity
- raft
- reams
- scads
- sheaf
- shipload
- sight
- slew
- spate
- stack
- store
- ton
- truckload
- volume
- wad
- wealth
- yard
Examples of deal in a Sentence
Verb
It's your turn to deal.
Each player is dealt five cards.
She was dealt a full house.
dealing out the cards for a game of poker
The offending players were dealt harsh penalties.
She got caught dealing drugs in school.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Josh Reed, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Sep. 2023
If the Padres wait until the trade deadline to deal Soto, they’re left with relative crumbs in such a tight window.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2023
Like Sanderson, Seguin was so many years short of the UFA threshold that the deal left the Bruins with a protracted window, until July 1, 2017, to deal him.
—Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Sep. 2023
House Republicans have alleged Hunter Biden's various business dealing enriched the Biden family and have suggested, without hard evidence, that the president profited.
—Major Garrett, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2023
He was dealt to the Cubs for two months for infielder Javier Báez at the trade deadline a year later, a deal that backfired spectacularly for the Mets, who lost 11 of their first 14 games with Báez in the lineup and didn’t come close to making the playoffs.
—Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023
There are plenty of great early Prime Day shoe deals to browse right now.
—Malia Griggs, SELF, 11 Sep. 2023
Brenda’s grandmother is the strongest influence, passing on witchy traditions rooted in folkloric beliefs around birth and death, while Alex’s mentor figure is an elderly German sheep farmer and small-time crook (Lars Rudolph) who appears to have been dealt a pretty tough hand in life himself.
—Catherine Bray, Variety, 9 Sep. 2023
The Suns traded for Beal in the offseason in dealing Chris Paul to the Washington Wizards.
—Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 5 Sep. 2023
Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 17 Sep. 2023
On the film sales front, few deals were unveiled in Toronto as the strikes and SAG-AFTRA restrictions kept buyers from either traveling to Toronto or making deals for acquisition titles on the ground.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Sep. 2023
Multiple rounds of negotiations with a federal mediator have so far failed to result in a deal for the Merrimack Valley nurses, and in August, the nurses voted 33-1 to authorize a strike, according to the union.
—Nick Stoico, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Sep. 2023
But the ultimate impact of the strike depends on things like how long the strike lasts, if companies lay off workers at other plants, how many workers walk off their jobs and how long the unions and companies take to negotiate a deal.
—Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 16 Sep. 2023
Gose, under a minor league deal, is recovering from Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.
—Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 16 Sep. 2023
While a deal has not formally been struck and provisions could change, Republicans hope to take the temperature of the conference on the possible continuing resolution through the weekend.
—Marianna Sotomayor, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Amy B Wang, Jacqueline Alemany, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Sep. 2023
At the time, the government and Microsoft ultimately reached a settlement of five years, where the tech company was required to avoid exclusive deals that could be anti-competitive and publicly disclose pricing schemes for computer-makers.
—Inyoung Choi, NBC News, 15 Sep. 2023
The latter made headlines with their recent UPS deal that saw interest in applying to become a delivery driver soar.
—Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2023
See More
Verb
The final knockout blow was dealt when junior defensive end Leonidas Mata picked up a fumble by East quarterback Austin Johnson and proceeded to rumble 30 yards back the other way for a touchdown with 5:40 left in the game.
—Josh Reed, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Sep. 2023
If the Padres wait until the trade deadline to deal Soto, they’re left with relative crumbs in such a tight window.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2023
Like Sanderson, Seguin was so many years short of the UFA threshold that the deal left the Bruins with a protracted window, until July 1, 2017, to deal him.
—Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Sep. 2023
House Republicans have alleged Hunter Biden's various business dealing enriched the Biden family and have suggested, without hard evidence, that the president profited.
—Major Garrett, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2023
He was dealt to the Cubs for two months for infielder Javier Báez at the trade deadline a year later, a deal that backfired spectacularly for the Mets, who lost 11 of their first 14 games with Báez in the lineup and didn’t come close to making the playoffs.
—Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023
There are plenty of great early Prime Day shoe deals to browse right now.
—Malia Griggs, SELF, 11 Sep. 2023
Brenda’s grandmother is the strongest influence, passing on witchy traditions rooted in folkloric beliefs around birth and death, while Alex’s mentor figure is an elderly German sheep farmer and small-time crook (Lars Rudolph) who appears to have been dealt a pretty tough hand in life himself.
—Catherine Bray, Variety, 9 Sep. 2023
The Suns traded for Beal in the offseason in dealing Chris Paul to the Washington Wizards.
—Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 5 Sep. 2023
Noun
The 35-year-old quarterback in the final year of his deal watched the tape five times.
—Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 17 Sep. 2023
On the film sales front, few deals were unveiled in Toronto as the strikes and SAG-AFTRA restrictions kept buyers from either traveling to Toronto or making deals for acquisition titles on the ground.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Sep. 2023
Multiple rounds of negotiations with a federal mediator have so far failed to result in a deal for the Merrimack Valley nurses, and in August, the nurses voted 33-1 to authorize a strike, according to the union.
—Nick Stoico, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Sep. 2023
But the ultimate impact of the strike depends on things like how long the strike lasts, if companies lay off workers at other plants, how many workers walk off their jobs and how long the unions and companies take to negotiate a deal.
—Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 16 Sep. 2023
Gose, under a minor league deal, is recovering from Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.
—Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 16 Sep. 2023
While a deal has not formally been struck and provisions could change, Republicans hope to take the temperature of the conference on the possible continuing resolution through the weekend.
—Marianna Sotomayor, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Amy B Wang, Jacqueline Alemany, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Sep. 2023
At the time, the government and Microsoft ultimately reached a settlement of five years, where the tech company was required to avoid exclusive deals that could be anti-competitive and publicly disclose pricing schemes for computer-makers.
—Inyoung Choi, NBC News, 15 Sep. 2023
The latter made headlines with their recent UPS deal that saw interest in applying to become a delivery driver soar.
—Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (2), Verb, and Noun (1)
Middle English deel, from Old English dǣl; akin to Old English dāl division, portion, Old High German teil part
Noun (3)
Middle English dele, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German, plank; akin to Old High German dili plank — more at thill
First Known Use
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1b
Noun (1)
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Noun (2)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3
Noun (3)
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of deal was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing deal
Dictionary Entries Near deal
Cite this Entry
“Deal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deal. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
deal
1 of 3 noun1
: a large or indefinite amount or extent
means a great deal
2
a
: the act or right of passing out cards to players in a card game
deal
2 of 3 verb1
: to give as one's portion : distribute
deal out sandwiches
deal the cards
2
: give entry 1 sense 9a
dealt him a blow
3
: to have to do : treat
the book deals with education
4
: to take action
deal with offenders
5
a
: to engage in bargaining : trade
b
: to sell or distribute something as a business
deals in insurance
deal
3 of 3 noun1
a
: an act of dealing : transaction
b
: the result of bargaining : a mutual agreement
make a deal for a used car
2
: treatment received
a dirty deal
3
: an arrangement for the advantage of all involved
Legal Definition
deal
1 of 2 verb
dealt; dealing
: to carry on the business of buying or especially selling (something)
dealing drugs
1
: to engage in bargaining
2
: to sell or distribute something as a business or for money
dealing in real estate
deal in stolen property
deal
2 of 2 noun1
: an act of dealing : a business transaction
2
: an arrangement for mutual advantage (as for a defendant to testify in exchange for immunity from prosecution)
More from Merriam-Webster on deal
Nglish: Translation of deal for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of deal for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about deal
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share