deed

[ deed ]

noun

1. something that is done, performed, or accomplished; an act:

   Do a good deed every day.

2. an exploit or achievement; feat:

   brave deeds.

3. Often deeds. an act or gesture, especially as illustrative of intentions, one's character, or the like:

   Her deeds speak for themselves.

4. Law. a writing or document executed under seal and delivered to effect a conveyance, especially of real estate.

verb (used with object)

1. to convey or transfer by deed.

deed

/ diːd /

noun

1. something that is done or performed; act
2. a notable achievement; feat; exploit
3. action or performance, as opposed to words
4. law a formal legal document signed, witnessed, and delivered to effect a conveyance or transfer of property or to create a legal obligation or contract

verb

1. tr to convey or transfer (property) by deed

Other Words From

• deedless adjective
• re·deed verb (used with object)
• un·deeded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of deed¹

before 900; Middle English dede, Old English dēd, variant of dǣd; cognate with German Tat, Gothic gadēths; do ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of deed¹

Old English dēd; related to Old High German tāt, Gothic gadeths; see do ¹

Synonym Study

See action.

Example Sentences

The following year, he said: “I think Israel has title deed to Judea and Samaria,” using the name used by many in Israel for the area which became the occupied West Bank when it was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

From BBC

“To correct for this, the couple could purchase the property with a deed that provisions that property is owned with a joint right of survivorship, which reproduces the automatic protection a married couple has when purchasing a property.”

From Salon

“The adults brought this child along to do a bad deed, and let her suffer all the consequences.”

From BBC

In Baltimore, meanwhile, Question F gives voters the option to rezone the city’s Inner Harbor, removing deed restrictions on 4.5 acres of parkland and allowing the fading Harborplace mall to be redeveloped as a mixed-use area.

From Slate

A class-action lawsuit alleged that the VA had failed in its duty to provide adequate housing for disabled veterans and that its leases of portions of the 388-acre campus for other purposes violated the 1888 deed of the land to the U.S. government for the “establishment, construction and permanent maintenance” of a home for disabled soldiers.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• accomplishment
• act
• action
• adventure
• fact
• feat
• reality
• truth