deed
/diːd/noun, verb
deed is spelled D-E-E-D: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, deed means “An action or act; something that is done” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of deed is deeds.
How many letters and syllables are in deed?
| Letters | 4: D-E-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.6 times per million words; the 10,358th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is deed?
Deed appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce deed?
- /diːd/
Deed has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-deed.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of deed
- deeds plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- deeding participle, present
- deeded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does deed mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An action or act; something that is done.
One small deed can have one strong effect or more.
- 2
A brave or noteworthy action; a feat or exploit.
- 3
Action or fact, as opposed to rhetoric or deliberation.
I have fulfilled my promise in word and in deed.
- 4
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.
- 5
The legal title to real estate; ownership.
I inherited the deed to the house.
verb
- 1
informalTo transfer real property by deed.
He deeded over the mineral rights to some fellas from Denver.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Deed in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | acte, action, œuvre , exploit, haut fait, prouesse |
| German | Tat, Akt, Werk , Urkunde , urkundlich übertragen |
| Portuguese | ação, feito , ato, contrato, escritura |
| Spanish | hecho, obra, fecho , gesta, hombrada, machada |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does deed come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).