Link Centre Dictionary

treat

UK/tɹiːt/ US/t̠ʰɹiːt/ common uk
verb (8) noun (2)

verb

1.

interact in a certain way

  • “Do right by her”
  • “Treat him with caution, please”
  • “Handle the press reporters gently”
Synonyms
2.

subject to a process or treatment, with the aim of readying for some purpose, improving, or remedying a condition

  • “process cheese”
  • “process hair”
  • “treat the water so it can be drunk”
  • “treat the lawn with chemicals”
  • “treat an oil spill”
Synonyms
3.

provide treatment for

  • “The doctor treated my broken leg”
  • “The nurses cared for the bomb victims”
  • “The patient must be treated right away or she will die”
  • “Treat the infection with antibiotics”
Synonyms
4.

deal with verbally or in some form of artistic expression

  • “This book deals with incest”
  • “The course covered all of Western Civilization”
  • “The new book treats the history of China”
Synonyms
5.

provide with a gift or entertainment

  • “Grandmother always treated us to the circus”
  • “I like to treat myself to a day at a spa when I am depressed”
6.

provide with choice or abundant food or drink

  • “Don”
  • “m treating”
  • “She treated her houseguests with good food every night”
Synonyms
7.

engage in negotiations in order to reach an agreement

  • “they had to treat with the King”
8.

regard or consider in a specific way

  • “I treated his advances as a joke”

noun

1.
2.

Origin

From Middle English treten, from Anglo-Norman treter, Old French tretier, traiter, from Latin tractāre (“to pull", "to manage”), from the past participle stem of trahere (“to draw", "to pull”).

Phrases

  • a treat
  • doggy treat
  • Dutch treat
  • no way to treat a lady
  • stand treat
  • treat 'em mean to keep 'em keen
  • treat like a Make-A-Wish kid
  • treat like dirt
  • treat like garbage
  • treat like shit
  • treat like trash
  • treat of

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.