deal with
phrasal verb
dealt with; dealing with; deals with
1
: to be about (something) : to have (something) as a subject
Her speech dealt with health care and the nation's economy.
The film deals with some serious issues.
2
: to make business agreements with (someone)
He deals fairly with all his customers.
Their salespeople are very easy to deal with.
3
: to do something about (a person or thing that causes a problem or difficult situation)
The government dealt harshly with the rebels.
I'll deal with you later.
We weren't able/equipped/prepared to deal with such a large crowd of people.
4
: to accept or try to accept (something that is true and cannot be changed)
She's still trying to deal with his death.
The weather is bad, but we'll just have to deal with it.
Examples of deal with in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This would have been the first year Sacramento used layoffs to balance its budget since 2013, when the city was near the end of dealing with the Great Recession — a severe nationwide economic downturn.
—
Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 6 June 2025
Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson has revealed a unique parental approach to deal with his 22-year-old driver, Carson Hocevar, who crashed into the rear of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s car in Nashville.
—Saajan Jogia, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
Trump and Xi speak on phone, trade talks to start soon
The call comes a day after the US president called the Chinese leader ‘extremely hard to make a deal with’ in a social media post.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 6 June 2025
Treasury’s semi-annual report to Congress — called Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States— comes as the Trump administration seeks to strike a trade deal with China, averting a trade war that has been brewing between the two nations.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for deal with
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Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 6 June 2025
Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson has revealed a unique parental approach to deal with his 22-year-old driver, Carson Hocevar, who crashed into the rear of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s car in Nashville.
—Saajan Jogia, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
Trump and Xi speak on phone, trade talks to start soon
The call comes a day after the US president called the Chinese leader ‘extremely hard to make a deal with’ in a social media post.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 6 June 2025
Treasury’s semi-annual report to Congress — called Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States— comes as the Trump administration seeks to strike a trade deal with China, averting a trade war that has been brewing between the two nations.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for deal with
Cite this Entry
“Deal with.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deal%20with. Accessed 9 Jun. 2025.
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