Deed Meaning

/diːd/
B2

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounAn action or act; something that is done.

nounA brave or noteworthy action; a feat or exploit.

For once in my life I'm doing a good deed... And it is useless.
I admire your brave deed.
The will is as good as the deed.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The heroic ____ of saving the child from the fire was praised by everyone.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
For once in my life I'm doing a good ____... And it is useless.

From Middle English dede, from Old English dēd, dǣd (“deed, act”), from Proto-West Germanic *dādi, from Proto-Germanic *dēdiz (“deed”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁tis (“deed, action”). Analyzable through Proto-Germanic as do + -th. Doublet of thesis. The real estate sense derives from the fact that property deeds are traditionally used to demonstrate proof of ownership of a legal title in common law jurisdictions, such as England & Wales and most of the United States. Cognates Cognate with West Frisian died, Dutch daad (“deed, act”), German Low German Daad, German Tat (“deed, action”), Swedish, Norwegian and Danish dåd (“act, action”). The Proto-Indo-European root is also the source of Ancient Greek θέσις (thésis, “setting, arrangement”).

"And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done?" — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 44:15:
"They should accomplish both a knightly deed," — 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 4:
"whose deeds some nobler poem shall adorn" — 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number):

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The heroic ____ of saving the child from the fire was praised by everyone.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
For once in my life I'm doing a good ____... And it is useless.

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