Dealing Diːl Cards Verb Somebody/Something Deal Dealt Sense

• whose turn is it to deal?
• start by dealing out ten cards to each player.
• he dealt me two aces.
• you can often see people dealing openly on the streets.

deal

Verb Forms

1. to give cards to each player in a game of cards
• Whose turn is it to deal?
• Start by dealing out ten cards to each player.
• He dealt me two aces.
2. to buy and sell illegal drugs
• You can often see people dealing openly on the streets.
• He was sent to jail for dealing drugs to his friends.
3. to shock somebody/something very much; to be very harmful to somebody/something
• Her sudden death dealt a blow to the whole country.
4. to hit somebody/something
5. used to tell somebody that they cannot change a situation so they must accept it
• That's the way it is, so deal with it!
6. to do a lot of complicated deals in business or politics, often in a dishonest way

Word Origin

• verb Old English dǣlan ‘divide’, ‘participate’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch deel and German Teil ‘part’ (noun), also to dole. The sense ‘divide’ gave rise to ‘distribute’, hence sense 1 of the verb and 'deal somebody/something a blow'; the sense ‘participate’ gave rise to ‘have dealings with’, hence senses 2 of the verb and 'deal with'/'deal in'.