deal
see also: Deal
Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /diːl/, [dɪə̯ɫ]
  • (America) enPR: dēl, IPA: /diːl/
Noun

deal (plural deals)

  1. (obsolete) A division, a portion, a share.
    We gave three deals of grain in tribute to the king.
  2. (often followed by of) An indefinite quantity or amount; a lot (now usually qualified by great or good).
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/MaloryWks2/1:20.17?rgn=div2;view=fulltext chapter xvij], in Le Morte Darthur, book XVIII:
      And so they alle bare hym vnto the hermytage / and vnarmed hym / and layd hym in his bedde / & euer more his wound bledde pytously / but he stered no lymme of hym / Thenne the knyghte heremyte put a thynge in his nose and a lytel dele of water in his mouthe / And thenne sir launcelot waked of his swoune / and thenne the heremyte staunched his bledynge
    • 1814 July, [Jane Austen], chapter II, in Mansfield Park: A Novel. In Three Volumes, volume I, London: Printed for T[homas] Egerton, […], OCLC 39810224 ↗, page 35 ↗:
      There is a vast deal of difference in memories, as well as in every thing else, and therefore you should make allowance for your cousin, and pity her deficiency.
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, Ch.32:
      There is a deal of obscurity concerning the identity of the species thus multitudinously baptized.
    Synonyms: batch, flock, good deal, great deal, hatful, heap, load, lot, mass, mess, mickle, mint, muckle, peck, pile, plenty, pot, quite a little, raft, sight, slew, spate, stack, tidy sum, wad, whole lot, whole slew
Synonyms Related terms
  • a deal is a deal
Translations Translations Verb

deal (deals, present participle dealing; past and past participle dealt)

  1. (transitive) To distribute among a number of recipients, to give out as one’s portion or share.
    The fighting is over; now we deal out the spoils of victory.
  2. (transitive) To administer or give out, as in small portions.
    • 1820, Sir Walter Scott, The Abbot, ch. 30:
      "Away, proud woman!" said the Lady; "who ever knew so well as thou to deal the deepest wounds under the pretence of kindness and courtesy?"
  3. (ambitransitive) To distribute cards to the players in a game.
    I was dealt four aces.
    The cards were shuffled, and the croupier dealt.
  4. (baseball) To pitch.
    The whole crowd waited for him to deal a real humdinger.
  5. (intransitive) To have dealings or business.
    • 1838, Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist, ch. 11:
      Mr. Brownlow contrived to state his case; observing that, in the surprise of the moment, he had run after the boy because he saw him running away; and expressing his hope that, if the magistrate should believe him, although not actually the thief, to be connected with thieves; he would deal as leniently with him as justice would allow.
  6. (intransitive) To conduct oneself, to behave.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.ii:
      In Deheubarth that now South-wales is hight, / What time king Ryence raign'd, and dealed right [...].
  7. (obsolete, intransitive) To take action; to act.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book IV:
      Wel said syr Uwayne go on your waye, and lete me dele.
  8. (intransitive) To trade professionally (followed by in).
    She deals in gold.
  9. (transitive) To sell, especially to sell illicit drugs.
    This club takes a dim view of members who deal drugs.
  10. (intransitive) To be concerned with.
    • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses, episode 14:
      Science, it cannot be too often repeated, deals with tangible phenomena.
  11. (intransitive) To handle, to manage, to cope.
    • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, chapter 19:
      Then there was the sound of a struggle, and I knew that the attendants were dealing with him.
    I can't deal with this.
    I don't think he wants to go. — Yeah, well, we're going anyway, and he can deal.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • German: dealen
  • Portuguese: traficar
  • Russian: сбыва́ть
  • Spanish: vender droga, traficar
Translations Translations Noun

deal (plural deals)

  1. (archaic in general sense) An act of dealing or sharing out.
  2. The distribution of cards to players; a player's turn for this.
    I didn’t have a good deal all evening.
    I believe it's your deal.
  3. A particular instance of buying or selling; a transaction
    We need to finalise the deal with Henderson by midnight.
    • 2014, Jamie Jackson, "Ángel di María says Manchester United were the ‘only club’ after Real ↗", The Guardian, 26 August 2014:
      The deal, which overtakes the £50m paid to Liverpool by Chelsea for Fernando Torres in January 2011 as the highest paid by a British club, takes United’s summer spend to £130.7m, following the £27m spent on Luke Shaw, the £28m for Ander Herrera and £16m for Marcos Rojo.
  4. Specifically, a transaction offered which is financially beneficial; a bargain.
    • 2009, The Guardian, Virginia Wallis, 22 Jul 2009:
      You also have to look at the kind of mortgage deals available to you and whether you will be able to trade up to the kind of property you are looking for.
  5. An agreement between parties; an arrangement
    • 2009, Jennifer Steinhauer, New York Times, 20 Jul 2009:
      California lawmakers, their state broke and its credit rating shot, finally sealed the deal with the governor Monday night on a plan to close a $26 billion budget gap.
    He made a deal with the devil.
  6. (informal) A situation, occasion, or event.
    What's the deal?
  7. (informal) A thing, an unspecified or unidentified object.
    The deal with four tines is called a pitchfork.
Synonyms
  • (cards held in a card game by a player at any given time) hand
  • (instance of buying or selling) business deal, sale, trade, transaction
  • (a beneficial transaction) steal, bargain
  • (agreement between parties fixing obligations of each) contract, pact
Translations Translations Translations Noun

deal

  1. (uncountable) Wood that is easy to saw (from conifers such as pine or fir).
    • 1722, Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year, London: E. Nutt et al., p. 86,
      Some Houses were […] entirely lock’d up, the Doors padlockt, the Windows and Doors having Deal Boards nail’d over them,
  2. (countable) A plank of softwood (fir or pine board).
  3. (countable, archaic) A wooden board or plank, usually between 12 or 14 feet in length, traded as a commodity in shipbuilding.
Synonyms
  • (wood that is easy to saw, from conifers such as pine or fir)
  • (plank of softwood)
Translations Translations Adjective

deal (not comparable)

  1. Made of deal.
    A plain deal table
    • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 6
      She glanced round the kitchen. It was small and curious to her, with its glittering kissing-bunch, its evergreens behind the pictures, its wooden chairs and little deal table.
    • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 47
      Through the open door you see a red-tiled floor, a large wooden bed, and on a deal table a ewer and a basin.

Deal
Pronunciation Proper noun
  1. A coastal town in Kent, England.



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