Deed
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An action or act; something that is done.
"One small deed can have one stour effect or more."
- 2 something that people do or cause to happen wordnet
- 3 A brave or noteworthy action; a feat or exploit.
"They should accomplish both a knightly deed,"
- 4 a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it wordnet
- 5 Action or fact, as opposed to rhetoric or deliberation.
"I have fulfilled my promise in word and in deed."
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- 6 A legal instrument that is executed under seal or before a witness; sometimes required for certain legal activities, such as the transfer of certain kinds of property.
- 7 A legal instrument that is executed under seal or before a witness; sometimes required for certain legal activities, such as the transfer of certain kinds of property.; The legal title to real estate; ownership. broadly
"I inherited the deed to the house."
- 1 To transfer real property by deed. informal
"He deeded over the mineral rights to some fellas from Denver."
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Shocked by the events of September 11th, politicians all over the world condemned the terrorists for their reprehensible deed."
Etymology
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”).
Related phrases
More for "deed"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.