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

Thorpe’s story illustrates the numerous roadblocks people who claim innocence in cases with backlogged rape kits can face, even in states such as North Carolina that have received federal grants to deal with the problem. —Gina Barton, USA Today, 2 May 2025

Fleeing raging fires with a Derby contender, all while dealing with personal tumult, is not on the schedule. —Dana O'Neil, New York Times, 1 May 2025

The Forerunner 970 will be a more important case study in how Garmin will deal with tariffs through consumer pricing going forward. —Andrew Williams, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

The Trump Organization isn't stopping at Dubai, however, and has also just inked a deal with DarGlobal to develop the Trump International Golf Club, Doha in neighboring Qatar. —Adam Williams, New Atlas, 1 May 2025