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.
Recent Examples on the Web
The Indianapolis Star, 11 Apr. 2024
These include customers and suppliers who’ve dealt directly with Boeing’s top management, and witnessed the shortcomings in the C-suite.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
That influx increased after Hurricane Ian dealt a devastating blow to Fort Myers in 2022.
—James A. Jones Jr., Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2024
Because the restaurant now deals almost exclusively in whole fish butchered on-site — 700 to 1,000 pounds per day — Nelson has easy access to all parts of the creatures.
—Ann Maloney, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
Those include the extent of the financial losses dealt upon the victims, the defendant’s character and history, whether any obstruction of justice had taken place, the likelihood of recidivism, and so forth.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 28 Mar. 2024
And Israel may be running out of time to deal more damage.
—Dominic Tierney, Foreign Affairs, 25 Mar. 2024
Her biggest tenants are marijuana businesses, which deal mostly in cash, as does the clientele of her consulting firm catering to Chinese immigrants.
—Kirsten Berg, ProPublica, 22 Mar. 2024
The industry has said if passed, the measure would put oil and gas companies out of business in Colorado and deal a huge blow to the state’s economy because of the loss of jobs and revenue generated by the industry.
—Judith Kohler, The Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Jonathan Lansner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
This is the second consecutive year Krispy Kreme has offered this deal on Tax Day and there is a limit of two dozen per customer in-shop and a limit of one when ordering online for pickup or delivery via Krispy Kreme's app or website, the company said.
—Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
There are girls out there spending their days getting content, changing outfits, taking photos and getting deals.
—Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Apr. 2024
Attorneys for Hunter Biden had rested their hopes for dismissal in large part on their claim that an immunity provision in their plea deal, which ultimately fell apart, was ratified when both parties signed it.
—Lucien Bruggeman, ABC News, 12 Apr. 2024
In trying to stay as close to the Haitian constitution as possible and to what was agreed upon in Jamaica last month, when the political deal was brokered with the help of the 15-member Caribbean Community, CARICOM, Henry’s government also decided to publish two separate decrees.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 12 Apr. 2024
But Viktor Orban – Hungarian Prime Minister and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin – has held up Kyiv’s membership negotiations with the EU and delayed aid deals.
—Luke McGee, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
Cardell’s remarks reflect concerns around how the biggest US tech companies have acquired stakes in many of the most promising AI startups, deals that involve both funding and strategic access to infrastructure.
—Tiffany Tsoi, Fortune Europe, 12 Apr. 2024
Keep scrolling for more outdoor deals available during Wayfair’s sale.
—Ali Faccenda, Peoplemag, 2 Apr. 2024
Verb
But instead of a smooth path ahead, the unfortunate thespians are dealt a hand that includes an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that has trouble remaining dead and clumsy actors who have difficulties remembering their lines.
—The Indianapolis Star, 11 Apr. 2024
These include customers and suppliers who’ve dealt directly with Boeing’s top management, and witnessed the shortcomings in the C-suite.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
That influx increased after Hurricane Ian dealt a devastating blow to Fort Myers in 2022.
—James A. Jones Jr., Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2024
Because the restaurant now deals almost exclusively in whole fish butchered on-site — 700 to 1,000 pounds per day — Nelson has easy access to all parts of the creatures.
—Ann Maloney, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
Those include the extent of the financial losses dealt upon the victims, the defendant’s character and history, whether any obstruction of justice had taken place, the likelihood of recidivism, and so forth.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 28 Mar. 2024
And Israel may be running out of time to deal more damage.
—Dominic Tierney, Foreign Affairs, 25 Mar. 2024
Her biggest tenants are marijuana businesses, which deal mostly in cash, as does the clientele of her consulting firm catering to Chinese immigrants.
—Kirsten Berg, ProPublica, 22 Mar. 2024
The industry has said if passed, the measure would put oil and gas companies out of business in Colorado and deal a huge blow to the state’s economy because of the loss of jobs and revenue generated by the industry.
—Judith Kohler, The Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Noun
House hunters may have rushed to close deals as rates rose at the start of 2024.
—Jonathan Lansner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
This is the second consecutive year Krispy Kreme has offered this deal on Tax Day and there is a limit of two dozen per customer in-shop and a limit of one when ordering online for pickup or delivery via Krispy Kreme's app or website, the company said.
—Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
There are girls out there spending their days getting content, changing outfits, taking photos and getting deals.
—Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Apr. 2024
Attorneys for Hunter Biden had rested their hopes for dismissal in large part on their claim that an immunity provision in their plea deal, which ultimately fell apart, was ratified when both parties signed it.
—Lucien Bruggeman, ABC News, 12 Apr. 2024
In trying to stay as close to the Haitian constitution as possible and to what was agreed upon in Jamaica last month, when the political deal was brokered with the help of the 15-member Caribbean Community, CARICOM, Henry’s government also decided to publish two separate decrees.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 12 Apr. 2024
But Viktor Orban – Hungarian Prime Minister and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin – has held up Kyiv’s membership negotiations with the EU and delayed aid deals.
—Luke McGee, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
Cardell’s remarks reflect concerns around how the biggest US tech companies have acquired stakes in many of the most promising AI startups, deals that involve both funding and strategic access to infrastructure.
—Tiffany Tsoi, Fortune Europe, 12 Apr. 2024
Keep scrolling for more outdoor deals available during Wayfair’s sale.
—Ali Faccenda, Peoplemag, 2 Apr. 2024
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.
Dictionary Entries Near deal
Cite this Entry
“Deal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deal. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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