deed Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
deed of conveyance; title.
- he signed the deed
- he kept the title to his car in the glove compartment
noun something that people do or cause to happen
human activity; human action; act.

AS. dd; akin to OS. dad, D. & Dan. daad, G. thai, Sw. dåd, Goth. dds; fr. the root of do. See Do, v. t.

That which is done or effected by a responsible agent; an act; an action; a thing done; -- a word of extensive application, including, whatever is done, good or bad, great or small.
And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done? Gen. xliv. 15.

We receive the due reward of our deeds. Luke xxiii. 41.

Would serve his kind in deed and word. Tennyson.
Illustrious act; achievement; exploit. "Knightly deeds." Spenser.
Whose deeds some nobler poem shall adorn. Dryden.
Power of action; agency; efficiency. Obs.
To be, both will and deed, created free. Milton.
Fact; reality; -- whence we have indeed.
(Law) A sealed instrument in writing, on paper or parchment, duly executed and delivered, containing some transfer, bargain, or contract. ✍ The term is generally applied to conveyances of real estate, and it is the prevailing doctrine that a deed must be signed as well as sealed, though at common law signing was formerly not necessary.
Performance; -- followed by of. Obs. Shak.

To convey or transfer by deed; as, he deeded all his estate to his eldest son. Colloq. U. S.