deal

/diːl/

//diːl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"deal" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“deal” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #477. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#477
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A division, a portion, a share, a part, a piece.

Corpus desk

Index EN-deal · deal · English

deal · rank #477 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #477
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH buy

Nearest frequency peer: buy (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “deal”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “deal” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

deal vs DL
0% similar
deal vs DNA
0% similar
deal vs del
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for deal
PropertyValue
Headworddeal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/diːl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#477
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “deal”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).deallands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “buy” (#476), “rather” (#478), “age” (#475). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “deal” is #477. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around deal (IPA /diːl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #477 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for deal, with forms such as "dael", "ddeal", and "deall". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "DL", "DNA", "del", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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”)… The correct English form is deal, spelled D-E-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A division, a portion, a share, a part, a piece.
  2. 2
    An indefinite quantity or amount; a lot (now usually qualified by great or good).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how deal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. We gave three deals of grain in tribute to the king.
  2. 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.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

reparto(Español)part(Français)Anteil(Deutsch)porção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • dael
  • ddeal
  • deall
  • dela
  • edal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of deal - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

dael2ddeal1deall1dela2edal2
Edit distance from "deal"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "deal"?
"deal" is spelled D-E-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /diːl/.
What does "deal" mean?
As a noun, "deal" means: A division, a portion, a share, a part, a piece.
What words are commonly confused with "deal"?
"deal" is commonly confused with "DL", "DNA", "del". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "deal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "deal" is /diːl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "deal"?
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,... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "deal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stay#473soon#482turn#484form#489

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

data5 variantsfire5 variantswait5 variantsmove5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list