a good deal
English edit
Etymology edit
From deal (“division, portion, share”). Compare a great deal, etc.
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Adverb edit
a good deal (not comparable)
- (idiomatic) Very much; to a great extent; a lot; lots.
- We had a good deal more money after winning the lottery.
- 1835, James Hogg, The Story of Euphemia Hewit:
- He said he was sometimes whistling a tune to himself — for, like me, he sawed a good deal on the fiddle; […]
- 1865, Lewis Carroll, “Chapter 5: Advice from a Caterpillar”, in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:
- She was a good deal frightened by this very sudden change, but she felt that there was no time to be lost, as she was shrinking rapidly: so she set to work at once to eat some of the other bit.
Synonyms edit
Noun edit
- (idiomatic) A large amount; a lot.
- He made a good deal of trouble for us.
- 1838, Edgar Allan Poe, How to Write a Blackwood Article:
- You may make a good deal of that little fact if properly worked.
- 1825-29, Mahadev Desai (translator), M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Part I, chapter xvi[1]:
- A friend suggested that, if I really wanted to have the satisfaction of taking a difficult examination, I should pass the London Matriculation. It meant a good deal of labour and much addition to my stock of general knowledge, without any extra expense worth the name. I welcomed the suggestion. But the syllabus frightened me. Latin and a modern language were compulsory!
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see a, good, deal.
- I can offer you a good deal on that van.