deals

IPA/diːl/
KK[dˈilz]IPA/diːl/

deals — noun

  • dealssingular
  • dealsesplural

1. a formal agreement between two people or groups, especially in business, that st

1.nounB1
Definition

a formal agreement between two people or groups, especially in business, that states what each side will do, give, or receive.

Example

The two companies signed a deal to share new technology.

collocation: sign a deal / reach a deal / make a deal

After weeks of talks, both sides finally reached a deal on trade.

Common collocations
  • sign a deal
  • reach a deal
  • strike a deal
  • close a deal
  • make a deal
  • a great deal
Synonyms
  • agreement

    broader than deal; can be formal or informal, and not limited to business

  • arrangement

    less formal than deal; can cover personal plans as well as business

  • contract

    more formal and legally binding than a typical deal

  • bargain

    emphasises a favourable price or exchange

Usage Note

Very frequent in business journalism and negotiations. Common verbs used with this sense include make, reach, sign, close, and strike.

Common Mistakes

We made deal with the company.
We made a deal with the company.
Deal is a countable noun and needs an article or determiner.

2. a large quantity or degree of something, usually used in the fixed phrases 'a de

2.nounA2
Definition

a large quantity or degree of something, usually used in the fixed phrases 'a deal of', 'a great deal of', or 'a good deal of'.

Example

A great deal of time and effort went into this project.

pattern: a great deal of + uncountable noun

Sayaka spent a good deal of money on her new apartment.

Common collocations
  • a great deal of
  • a good deal of
  • a great deal
Synonyms
  • a lot

    more informal and can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns

  • plenty

    emphasises sufficiency rather than large quantity

  • a large amount

    more literal and formal; works in any register

Antonyms
  • a little

    opposite end of the quantity scale

Usage Note

Always appears in the singular with a determiner. 'A great deal of' is more common than 'a good deal of'. Both are used with uncountable nouns, not plural count nouns (not *'a great deal of people').

Common Mistakes

I have deal of work to do.
I have a great deal of work to do.
You must include 'a', 'a great', or 'a good' before 'deal'.

3. the act of giving out playing cards to each player at the beginning of a round i

3.nounB1
Definition

the act of giving out playing cards to each player at the beginning of a round in a card game.

Example

It is your turn to take the deal, Minho.

collocation: take the deal = be the dealer

After the deal, Hannah looked at her cards and smiled.

Common collocations
  • take the deal
  • the deal

Usage Note

Often used with the definite article: 'the deal'. The question 'Whose deal is it?' means 'Who should distribute the cards?'

4. pale, soft timber cut from pine or fir trees, commonly chosen by builders for fu

4.nounB2
Definition

pale, soft timber cut from pine or fir trees, commonly chosen by builders for furniture, shelves, and floorboards.

Example

The shelves were made of light-coloured deal from a local forest.

collocation: deal + furniture (table, floorboards, shelves)

Arjun chose a deal table because it was cheap and easy to move.

Common collocations
  • deal table
  • deal floorboards
  • deal wood
  • deal furniture
Synonyms
  • pine

    the most common type of deal; more widely understood in everyday English

  • fir

    another softwood similar to pine but slightly harder

Usage Note

This sense is almost exclusively used in British English. In American English, 'pine' or 'fir' is preferred. Uncountable — you cannot say 'a deal' to mean a piece of this wood.

Common Mistakes

The table is made of a deal.
The table is made of deal.
Deal wood is uncountable; do not use the indefinite article.

5. the way a person or group is treated by someone, especially when this is seen as

5.nounB2
Definition

the way a person or group is treated by someone, especially when this is seen as fair or unfair.

Example

The workers felt they got a fair deal from the new contract.

collocation: get a fair / rough / bad / raw deal

Campaigners said the prisoners received a rough deal at the trial.

Common collocations
  • fair deal
  • rough deal
  • bad deal
  • raw deal
  • better deal
Synonyms
  • treatment

    more neutral and formal; does not imply fairness the way 'deal' does

  • outcome

    focuses on the result rather than the quality of treatment

Usage Note

Almost always appears with a describing adjective before 'deal'. The most common patterns are 'get/have/receive a [adjective] deal'.

deals — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/4

All four words are used when taking action on a problem, but they differ in formality, grammar, and nuance. "Deal with" is the most versatile and neutral; it works in casual conversation ("I will deal with the dirty dishes later") as well as official contexts ("The report deals with climate change"). "Handle" suggests confident control and can be used transitively without a preposition: "She handled the crisis well" sounds more capable than "She dealt with the crisis." "Manage" implies ongoing oversight rather than a single action: "He manages the team's schedule" is about sustained organisation. "Address" is formal and used for serious or official topics: "The president addressed concerns about healthcare." "Cope with" focuses on emotional or psychological strain: "After losing his job, he struggled to cope with the stress." In summary: use "deal with" for everyday problems, "handle" for tasks you control, "manage" for ongoing responsibilities, "address" for formal matters, and "cope with" for emotional difficulty.

handle ↗manage ↗address ↗cope with ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

The word 'deal' has two separate origins that converged in modern English. The main meanings — agreement, trading, distributing, and handling — come from Old English 'dǣlan', meaning 'to divide, share, or distribute', which itself traces back to Proto-Germanic '*dailijaną'. This root is related to German 'teilen' (to divide) and Dutch 'delen' (to share). The idea of dividing led naturally to the business sense (sharing out goods) and the 'deal a blow' meaning (metaphorically 'serving out' harm). The wood sense comes from a separate source: Middle Low German 'dele' meaning 'plank' or 'board', which entered English in the 14th century. This is why the timber meaning exists alongside the distributive meanings — they arrived from different Germanic languages at different times.

First known use

12th century

12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1b Noun (1)