Deal Meaning
/ˈdiːl/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA division, a portion, a share, a part, a piece.
nounAn indefinite quantity or amount; a lot (now usually qualified by great or good).
Sentence Examples
It's a good deal.
We will be willing to make a deal with you after the auction.
Whose turn is it to deal?
CEFR Practice Quiz
The two companies signed a ____ to merge their operations last week.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It's a good ____.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English del, dele, from Old English dǣl (“part, share, portion”), from Proto-West Germanic *daili, from Proto-Germanic *dailiz (“part, deal”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰ(h₁)-oy-lo- (“part, watershed”). Cognate with Scots dele (“part, portion”), West Frisian diel (“part, share”), Dutch deel (“part, share, portion”), German Teil (“part, portion, section”), Danish, Slovene, and Swedish del (“part”), Icelandic deila (“division, contention”), Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻𐍃 (dails, “portion”). Related to Old English dāl (“portion”). More at dole.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"There is a vast deal of difference in memories, as well as in every thing else, and therefore you should make allowance for your cousin, and pity her deficiency."
— 1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter II, in Mansfield Park: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 35:
"There is a deal of obscurity concerning the identity of the species thus multitudinously baptized."
— 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 32, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
"“They know our boats will stand up to their work,” said Willison, “and that counts for a good deal. A low estimate from us doesn't mean scamped work, but just that we want to keep the yard busy over a slack time.”"
— 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 3, in Well Tackled!:
"Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth."
— 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
"Rome deals out her blessings and her gold."
— a'''. 1740, Thomas Tickell, “An Epistle from a lady in England to a gentleman at Avignon”, in Charles Churchil, editor, The Poetical Works of Churchill, Parnell, and Tickell: With a Life of Each, published 1880, page 51:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The two companies signed a ____ to merge their operations last week.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It's a good ____.