/ diːl; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
( dealt , dealt / delt; NAmE /)
CARDS
1.
deal (sth) (out) | deal (sth) (to sb) to give cards to each player in a game of cards :
[ v ]
Whose turn is it to deal?
[ vn ]
Start by dealing out ten cards to each player.
[ vnn ]
He dealt me two aces.
DRUGS
2.
to buy and sell illegal drugs :
[ v ]
You can often see people dealing openly on the streets.
[also vn ]
•
IDIOMS
- deal sb/sth a blow | deal a blow to sb/sth
—more at wheel verb
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- deal in sth
- deal sb in
- deal sth out
- deal with sb
- deal with sb/sth
- deal with sth
■ noun
A LOT
1.
[ sing. ] a good / great ~ much; a lot :
They spent a great deal of money.
It took a great deal of time.
I'm feeling a good deal better.
We see them a great deal (= often) .
BUSINESS AGREEMENT
2.
[ C ] an agreement, especially in business, on particular conditions for buying or doing sth :
to make / sign / conclude / close a deal (with sb)
( informal )
Did you cut a deal (= make one) ?
We did a deal with the management on overtime.
They were hoping for a better pay deal.
A deal was struck after lengthy negotiations.
The deal fell through (= no agreement was reached) .
I got a good deal on the car (= bought it cheaply) .
It's a deal! (= I agree to your terms)
Listen. This is the deal (= this is what we have agreed and are going to do) .
—see also package
TREATMENT
3.
[ C , usually sing. ] the way that sb/sth is treated :
If elected, the party has promised a new deal (= better and fairer treatment) for teachers.
They knew they'd been given a raw / rough deal (= been treated unfairly) .
We tried to ensure that everyone got a fair deal .
It was a square deal for everyone.
IN CARD GAMES
4.
[ C , usually sing. ] the action of giving out cards to the players :
It's your deal.
WOOD
5.
[ U ] ( especially BrE ) the soft pale wood of fir or pine trees, especially when it is cut into boards for making things :
a deal table
•
IDIOMS
- what's the deal?
—more at big adjective , done adjective , strike verb
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun senses 1 to 4 and verb Old English dǣlan divide , participate , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch deel and German Teil part (noun), also to dole . The sense divide gave rise to distribute , hence sense 1 of the verb and 'deal sb/sth a blow'; the sense participate gave rise to have dealings with , hence senses 2 of the verb and 'deal with'/'deal in'.
noun sense 5 Middle English : from Middle Low German and Middle Dutch dele plank.