deal
1 of 4verb
ˈdēl 
dealt ˈdelt ; dealing ˈdē-liŋ
; dealing ˈdē-liŋ intransitive verb
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
transitive verb
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
3
business
a
: sell
deals drugs
b
: trade
deal a player to another team
dealer
ˈdē-lər
noun deal
2 of 4noun (1)
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
4
: situation, story
What is the deal with that guy?
tried to figure out her deal
5
: mccoy —used in the phrase the real deal
6
: affair sense 2
Dinner was an informal deal.
7
: package deal
deal
3 of 4noun (2)
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
3
obsolete : part, portion
deal
4 of 4noun (3)
1
British : a board of fir or pine
2
: pine or fir wood
deal adjective
Synonyms
Verb
- trade
- traffic
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
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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
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
Phrases Containing deal
Kids Definition
deal
1 of 3 noun ˈdē(ə)l
1
: 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
b
: hand entry 1 sense 11b
deal
2 of 3 verb dealt ˈdelt ; dealing ˈdē-liŋ
; dealing ˈdē-liŋ 1
: 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
dealer
ˈdē-lər
noun 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
transitive verb
: to carry on the business of buying or especially selling (something)
dealing drugs
intransitive verb
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)
deal 1 of 3
noun (1)
as in ton
a considerable amount there is a great deal of waste in government Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- ton
- plenty
- loads
- slew
- chunk
- bundle
- dozen
- hundred
- lot
- bunch
- quantity
- pile
- stack
- raft
- much
- wealth
- abundance
- mess
- good deal
- volume
- myriad
- store
- boatload
- pack
- truckload
- bucket
- barrel
- mountain
- pot
- shipload
- peck
- yard
- basketful
- sight
- heap
- gobs
- multiplicity
- mass
- plateful
- score
- plenitude
- carload
- wad
- fistful
- spate
- potful
- sheaf
- oodles
- all kinds (of)
- quite a bit
- scads
- plague
- reams
- profusion
- bushel
- lashins
- passel
- surplus
- plentitude
- bonanza
- lashings
- flood
- thousands
- rash
- million
- epidemic
- embarrassment
- overage
- excess
- host
- overkill
- swarm
- multitude
- redundancy
- oversupply
- sea
- crush
- plethora
- press
- overflow
- deluge
- army
- overmuch
- overabundance
- crowd
- cram
- surfeit
- bevy
- superabundance
- mob
- drove
- horde
- flock
- throng
- superfluity
- trillion
- herd
- legion
- zillion
- gazillion
- jillion
- kazillion
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- spot
- taste
- touch
- pittance
- strain
- hint
- handful
- pinch
- bit
- suspicion
- scrap
- mouthful
- ace
- streak
- grain
- shade
- peanuts
- molecule
- glimmer
- fragment
- shadow
- nip
- ray
- whit
- mite
- lick
- ounce
- trace
- dram
- sprinkling
- atom
- particle
- shred
- piece
- speck
- dab
- drop
- scruple
- shot
- modicum
- sprinkle
- dot
- crumb
- portion
- little
- section
- tad
- granule
- smattering
- tittle
- mote
- jot
- dash
- morsel
- shortage
- iota
- driblet
- want
- lack
- scintilla
- smidgeon
- smidge
- smidgin
- flyspeck
- deficit
- scarcity
- absence
- smidgen
- fleck
- famine
- deficiency
- poverty
- paucity
- smatter
- nubbin
- dearth
- inadequacy
- insufficiency
- scantness
- undersupply
- scantiness
- scarceness
- meagerness
- skimpiness
deal
2 of 3noun (2)
1
as in agreement
an arrangement about action to be taken we made a deal to cooperate on the next assignment Synonyms & Similar Words
- agreement
- pact
- bargain
- contract
- convention
- settlement
- understanding
- promise
- treaty
- covenant
- compact
- accord
- pledge
- disposition
- partnership
- association
- approval
- charter
- alliance
- consent
- binder
- acceptance
- league
- entente
- assent
- entente cordiale
- okay
- concurrence
- OK
2
as in sale
the transfer of ownership of something from one person to another for a price we closed the deal for the house last week Synonyms & Similar Words
- sale
- transaction
- bargain
- purchase
- auction
- negotiation
- trade
- buy
- haggle
- steal
- silent auction
- clearance
- fair
- closeout
- fire sale
- horse-trading
- tag sale
- rummage sale
- garage sale
- jumble sale
- yard sale
3
as in contract
a formal agreement to fulfill an obligation if the other party backs out of the deal after it's signed, you can sue Synonyms & Similar Words
- contract
- guarantee
- treaty
- pledge
- assurance
- bond
- warranty
- vow
- bargain
- pact
- guaranty
- covenant
- surety
- seal
- insurance
- convention
- oath
- deposit
- compact
- security
- word
- accord
- concordat
- bail
- pawn
- troth
4
as in situation
position with regard to conditions and circumstances we don't yet know what the deal is with the new manager Synonyms & Similar Words
- situation
- story
- status
- picture
- scene
- posture
- ball game
- footing
- state
- standing
- rank
- score
- spot
- place
- status quo
5
as in bargain
something bought or offered for sale at a desirable price that mail-order sweater isn't such a great deal after you factor in the cost of shipping and handling Synonyms & Similar Words
- bargain
- steal
- buy
- gift
- bonus
- clearance
- pennyworth
- snip
- present
- closeout
- premium
- markdown
- windfall
- freebie
- giveaway
- boon
- freebee
- cheapie
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- overcharge
- gouging
- markup
- soaking
- rip-off
- luxury
- surcharge
- extravagance
deal
3 of 3verb
1
as in to trade
to carry on the business of buying and selling goods or other property that store deals in used furniture Synonyms & Similar Words
- trade
- negotiate
- sell
- bargain
- traffic
- exchange
- purchase
- swap
- smuggle
- buy
- merchandise
- retail
- market
- barter
- transact
- auction
- supply
- resell
- wholesale
- horse-trade
- take
- invest
- distribute
- fence
- peddle
- pick up
- merchandize
- speculate
- rebuy
- corner
- monopolize
- vend
- bootleg
- undersell
- engross
- fair-trade
- day-trade
- black-market
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- boycott
- black
- blackball
2
as in to negotiate
to talk over or dispute the terms of a purchase you're going to have to learn how to deal if you want to buy a car at a fair price Synonyms & Similar Words
- negotiate
- bargain
- haggle
- clash
- dicker
- argue
- palter
- wheel and deal
- trade
- fight
- horse-trade
- cut a deal
- bicker
- exchange
- chaffer
- wrangle
- squabble
- buy
- quarrel
- purchase
- comparison shop
- hassle
- barter
- quibble
- hawk
- peddle
- shop (around)
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of deal are dispense, distribute, divide, and dole out. While all these words mean "to give out, usually in shares, to each member of a group," deal emphasizes the allotment of something piece by piece.
deal out equipment and supplies
In some situations, the words dispense and deal are roughly equivalent. However, dispense suggests the giving of a carefully weighed or measured portion to each of a group according to due or need.
dispensed wisdom to the students
Although the words distribute and deal have much in common, distribute implies an apportioning by separation of something into parts, units, or amounts.
distributed food to the needy
The words divide and deal are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, divide stresses the separation of a whole into parts and implies that the parts are equal.
three charitable groups divided the proceeds
The synonyms dole out and deal are sometimes interchangeable, but dole out implies a carefully measured portion of something that is often in short supply.
doled out what little food there was