deal with

deal with (third-person singular simple present deals with, present participle dealing with, simple past and past participle dealt with)

1. (transitive) To handle verbally or in some form of artistic expression; to address or discuss as a subject.

   This book deals with incest.

2. (transitive) To take action with respect to (someone or something).
   • 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:

     It is therefore dealing with pollution in two ways—suppression and mitigation.

   The teacher knew how to deal with these lazy students.

3. (transitive) To consider, as an example.

   Let us deal with the case of China.

4. (transitive) To come to terms with; to overcome any difficulties presented by.

   We deal with having just a gallon of gas.   Thankfully he'd dealt with such issues before, so he had all the necessary experience.

5. (transitive) To be in charge of, act on, or dispose of.

   I can deal with this crew of workers.

6. (transitive) To behave in a certain way towards.

   He deals fairly with his employees.

• (handle verbally or in some form of artistic expression): address, cover, handle, plough/plow, treat
• (take action with respect to (someone or something)): engage, handle, take on, work
• (consider, as of an example): consider, look at, take
• (come to terms with successfully): come to terms with, contend with, cope with, get by with, grapple with, make do with, make out with, manage with
• (be in charge of, act on or dispose of): care for, handle, look after, manage, take care of
• (behave in a certain way towards): interact with