deal with
Britishverb
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to take action on
to deal with each problem in turn
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to punish
the headmaster will deal with the culprit
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to be concerned with
the book deals with Dutch art
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to conduct oneself (towards others), esp with regard to fairness
he can be relied on to deal fairly with everyone
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to do business with
the firm deals with many overseas suppliers
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See deal in , def. 1.
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Do business with someone, as in I like dealing with this company . [Late 1600s] Also see deal in , def. 2.
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Take action in, handle, administer, dispose of, as in The committee will deal with this matter . [Second half of 1400s]
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Act in a specified way toward someone, as in He dealt extremely fairly with his competitors . [c. 1300]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Britain reached a trade deal with the US that brought the automaker some relief in July.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
However, Smith said she is leading the charge to get a pipeline built in the hope that a deal with Ottawa would persuade private-sector investors to step up and take over.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
HM Revenue and Customs has announced a 10-year, £175m deal with the British tech firm Quantexa to provide AI-powered technology to help improve its performance.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
She had refused to cooperate with federal investigators and pleaded not guilty, but recently discussed a plea deal with prosecutors.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
I would get her free, and then I’d deal with everything else.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.