Deal — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun /ˈdēl/

Meaning & Definition of Deal

Deal (verb)

  1. to concern oneself or itself
  2. to take action with regard to someone or something
  3. to reach or try to reach a state of acceptance or reconcilement

Deal (noun)

  1. an act of dealing, transaction
  2. contract
  3. bargain
  4. a usually large or indefinite quantity or degree
  5. the act or right of distributing cards to players
  6. hand
  7. a board of fir or pine
  8. pine or fir wood

Deal (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a considerable amount

    "there is a great deal of waste in government"

    similar: abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, dozen, fistful, gobs, good deal, heap, hundred, lashings (chiefly British), 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, all kinds (of), quite a bit
    related: epidemic, plague, rash, bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, deluge, flood, overflow, army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host, legion, mob, multitude, press, score, sea, swarm, throng, gazillion, jillion, kazillion, million, thousands, trillion, zillion
    opposite: ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen, speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, taste, touch, trace
    near: atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit, smatter, smattering, dash, drop, morsel, shot, piece, portion, section, absence, dearth, famine, lack, paucity, poverty, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, undersupply, want, deficiency, deficit, inadequacy, insufficiency, meagerness, scantiness, scantness, skimpiness

  2. an arrangement about action to be taken

    "we made a deal to cooperate on the next assignment"

    similar: accord, agreement, bargain, compact, contract, convention, covenant, disposition, pact, settlement, understanding
    related: charter, treaty, binder, pledge, promise, alliance, association, entente, entente cordiale, league, partnership, acceptance, approval, assent, concurrence, consent, OK

  3. the transfer of ownership of something from one person to another for a price

    "we closed the deal for the house last week"

    similar: sale, trade, transaction
    related: auction, silent auction, haggle, horse-trading, negotiation, bargain, buy, steal, purchase, clearance, closeout, fire sale, fair, garage sale, jumble sale (British), rummage sale, tag sale, yard sale

  4. a formal agreement to fulfill an obligation

    "if the other party backs out of the deal after it's signed, you can sue"

    similar: bond, contract, covenant, guarantee, guaranty, surety, warranty
    related: oath, pledge, troth, vow, word, accord, bargain, compact, concordat, convention, pact, treaty, assurance, insurance, seal, bail, deposit, pawn, security

  5. position with regard to conditions and circumstances

    "we don't yet know what the deal is with the new manager"

    similar: ball game, footing, picture, posture, scene, situation, status, story
    related: rank, standing, place, spot, state, score, status quo

  6. 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"

    similar: bargain, buy, pennyworth, snip (British), steal
    related: clearance, closeout, markdown, cheapie, bonus, freebie, gift, giveaway, premium, present, boon, windfall
    near: gouging, overcharge, rip-off, soaking, markup, surcharge, extravagance, luxury

Deal (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to carry on the business of buying and selling goods or other property

    "that store deals in used furniture"

    similar: trade, traffic
    related: bargain, barter, horse-trade, negotiate, transact, auction, exchange, merchandise, rebuy, resell, swap, buy, pick up, purchase, take, distribute, fair-trade, market, peddle, retail, sell, supply, vend, wholesale, black-market, bootleg, fence, smuggle, corner, engross, monopolize, undersell, day-trade, invest, speculate
    near: black (chiefly British), blackball, boycott

  2. 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"

    similar: bargain, chaffer, dicker, haggle, horse-trade, negotiate, palter, cut a deal, wheel and deal
    related: argue, bicker, clash, fight, hassle, quarrel, quibble, squabble, wrangle, comparison shop, shop (around), barter, exchange, trade, hawk, peddle, buy, purchase

Related Entry: Deal (in) (verb)

Deal (in) is a different word from Deal. The synonyms below are for deal (in), not for deal.

  1. to offer for sale to the public

    "the company deals in virtually all types of insurance"

    similar: market, merchandise, put up, retail, sell, vend
    related: presell, wholesale, remarket, resell, hawk, peddle, barter, distribute, exchange, export, handle, trade, traffic (in), advertise, ballyhoo, boost, plug, promote, tout, bargain, chaffer, dicker, haggle, horse-trade, palter, auction, provide, supply, carry, keep, stock
    opposite: buy, purchase

Related Entry: Deal (out) (verb)

Deal (out) is a different word from Deal. The synonyms below are for deal (out), not for deal.

  1. to give out (something) to appropriate individuals

    "aid workers dealt out a packet of emergency supplies to each earthquake victim"

    similar: administer, allocate, apportion, dispense, distribute, dole out, hand out, mete (out), parcel (out), portion, prorate
    related: admeasure, allot, allow, appropriate, assign, dish out, divide, divvy (up), dollop (out), lot, measure (out), part, proportion, ration, redistribute, set, share (out), split, bestow, disburse, furnish, issue, provide, share, supply, circulate, disperse, disseminate, scatter, spread, chip in, contribute, donate, pledge, reallocate, reapportion
    opposite: misallocate
    near: begrudge, decline, deny, deprive (of), disallow, refuse, reject, withhold, niggle (out), pinch, skimp, stint

Related Entry: Deal (with) (verb)

Deal (with) is a different word from Deal. The synonyms below are for deal (with), not for deal.

  1. to behave toward in a stated way

    "it's important to deal with others fairly"

    similar: act (toward), be (to), handle, serve, treat, use, do by
    related: consider, esteem, rate, reckon, regard, view, engage (with), react (to), respond (to)

  2. to have (something) as a subject matter

    "this textbook deals with the history of France"

    similar: concern, cover, pertain (to), treat (of), have to do with
    related: appertain (to), bear (on or upon), refer (to), relate (to), advert (to), allude (to), cite, glance (upon), instance, mention, name, note, notice, quote, specify, touch (upon), offer, present, contain, embrace, encompass, entail, include, incorporate
    near: exclude, omit, disregard, forget, ignore, neglect, overlook, overpass, pass over, slight, slur (over), brush (aside or off), reject, shrug off

Related Entry: Deal (for) (verb)

Deal (for) is a different word from Deal. The synonyms below are for deal (for), not for deal.

  1. as in exchange (for), trade (for)

    similar: barter (for), dicker (over), exchange (for), haggle (for), negotiate (about), trade (for), finance, pay (for), spring (for), bargain (with), chaffer (with), horse-trade (with), palter (with), acquire, gain, garner, get, obtain, procure, secure, win, bid, offer, buy, cop (slang), pick up, purchase, take, rebuy, repurchase
    opposite: deal (in), market, merchandise, retail, sell, vend

Related Entry: Good deal (noun)

Good deal is a different word from Deal. The synonyms below are for good deal, not for deal.

  1. a considerable amount

    "he knows a good deal about the current situation in Africa"

    similar: abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, deal, dozen, fistful, gobs, heap, hundred, lashings (chiefly British), 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, all kinds (of), quite a bit
    related: epidemic, plague, rash, bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, deluge, flood, overflow, army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host, legion, mob, multitude, press, score, sea, swarm, throng, gazillion, jillion, kazillion, million, thousands, trillion, zillion
    opposite: ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen, speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, taste, touch, trace
    near: atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit, smatter, smattering, dash, drop, morsel, shot, piece, portion, section, absence, dearth, famine, lack, paucity, poverty, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, undersupply, want, deficiency, deficit, inadequacy, insufficiency, meagerness, scantiness, scantness, skimpiness

Related Entry: Raw deal (noun)

Raw deal is a different word from Deal. The synonyms below are for raw deal, not for deal.

  1. unfair or inadequate treatment of someone or something or an instance of this

    "customers affected by the increase in the service fee complained they were getting a raw deal"

    similar: disservice, inequity, injury, injustice, shaft, unfairness, unjustness, wrong
    related: affront, indignity, insult, offense, outrage, put-down, slight, slur, beef, complaint, grievance
    opposite: equitableness, equity, fairness, justice
    near: cricket

Related Entry: Cut a deal (phrase)

Cut a deal is a different word from Deal. The synonyms below are for cut a deal, not for deal.

  1. to talk over or dispute the terms of a purchase

    "We managed to cut a deal with the landlord in which we will be allowed to adopt a furry friend in exchange for an increase in rent."

    similar: bargain, chaffer, deal, dicker, haggle, horse-trade, negotiate, palter, wheel and deal
    related: argue, bicker, clash, fight, hassle, quarrel, quibble, squabble, wrangle, comparison shop, shop (around), barter, exchange, trade, hawk, peddle, buy, purchase

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Deal

The most common words with a similar meaning to Deal:

Chiefly British: lashings
British: snip
abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, dozen, fistful, gobs, good deal, heap, hundred, loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, multiplicity, myriad, oodles, pack, passel, peck, pile, plateful, plenitude, plentitude, plenty, pot, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Deal

Words with the opposite meaning of Deal:

ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen, speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, taste

Related Words for Deal

epidemic, plague, rash, bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, deluge, flood, overflow, army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host

Near Antonyms of Deal

atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit, smatter, smattering, dash, drop, morsel, shot, piece, portion, section

Word Forms of Deal

Inflections: dealt, dealing

Derived words: dealer (noun), deal (adjective)

Origin & Etymology of Deal

Middle English deel, from Old English dǣl; akin to Old English dāl division, portion, Old High German teil part

First known use: before 12th centuryt

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Deal

Words & Phrases Containing Deal

deal-breaker, deal a blow, deal in, deal with, big deal, cut a deal

Frequently Asked Questions about Deal

What does "Deal" mean?

"Deal" means to concern oneself or itself. As an a verb and a noun, it is defined as: to concern oneself or itself. It has 8 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Deal"?

Other words for "Deal" include abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle and bushel. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Deal" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Deal"?

There are 241 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Deal". Common alternatives include abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload and chunk.

What is the opposite of "Deal"?

Antonyms of "Deal" include ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful and hint. Near antonyms include atom, crumb, dot and fleck.

How do you use "Deal" in a sentence?

Examples of "Deal" in a sentence: "there is a great deal of waste in government"; "we made a deal to cooperate on the next assignment"; "we closed the deal for the house last week".

Is "Deal" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Deal" can be used as a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Deal" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A2-level word, "Deal" is typical of Cambridge A2 Key (KET), PTE Academic 30–42, TOEIC Listening & Reading 225+.

How do you pronounce "Deal"?

"Deal" is pronounced /ˈdēl/.