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deal

verb · noun · adjective

Simple meaning

Give to a player.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

deel
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈdil

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Give (a specific card) to a player

    “He dealt me the Queen of Spades.”

  2. Give out as one's portion or share

  3. Administer or bestow, as in small portions

  4. transitive

    To administer or give out, as in small portions.

  5. Do business; offer for sale as for one's livelihood

  6. intransitive

    To conduct oneself, to behave.

noun

  1. A particular instance of trading (buying or selling; exchanging; bartering); a transaction.

  2. in particular

    A transaction offered which is financially beneficial; a bargain.

  3. An agreement between parties; an arrangement.

  4. uncountable

    Wood that is easy to saw (from conifers such as pine or fir).

  5. countable

    A plank of softwood (fir or pine board).

  6. A coastal town and civil parish with a town council in Dover district, Kent, England (OS grid ref TR3752).

adjective

  1. Made of deal.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Give (a specific card) to a player

Used this way, deal is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“He dealt me the Queen of Spades.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use deal

  • “He deals fairly with his employees.”verb
  • “I can deal with this crew of workers.”verb
  • “How are we going to deal with this problem?”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

deal directlydeal effectively

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • dealernounInflected form

    Someone who purchases and maintains an inventory of goods to be sold.

  • dealingnounInflected form

    Method or manner of conduct in relation to others.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • deal outverbCompound term

    Administer or bestow, as in small portions.

  • double-dealernounCompound term

    A person who says one thing and does another.

  • double-dealingnounCompound term

    Acting in bad faith.

  • drug dealernounCompound term

    An unlicensed dealer in illegal drugs.

  • fair dealnounCompound term

    Fair treatment.

  • good dealnounCompound term

    A large number or amount or extent.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: particular instance of trading (buying or selling

trade

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.