deal with

phrasal verb

dealt with; dealing with; deals with

1

: 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.

2

: to make business agreements with (someone)

He deals fairly with all his customers.

Their salespeople are very easy to deal with.

3

: 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.

4

: 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

In a similar way to how Craig’s era as Bond dealt with the debate about the need for human field agents in a modern period of digital surveillance, First Light looks to be exploring the value of having agents the government can trust. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 18 June 2025

Before conflict broke out between Israel and Iran, Trump had been trying to broker a nuclear deal with the latter that could have avoided it. —Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 18 June 2025

The league has a multi-year deal with Main Street Sports Group for those digital rights that will remain in place as long as Main Street Sports meets certain conditions, including avoiding bankruptcy. —Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 18 June 2025

Each one of these companies has good—and often overlapping—ideas on dealing with extremism and terrorism, and these could be the basis for a starting point for creating industry standards to follow. —Steven Stalinsky, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025