deal and mass share a recorded sense, so the question is not what they mean but which one fits. deal means “act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression”. mass means “the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field”. deal is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈdil/
1.v.act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
“This book deals with incest”
2.v.take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
“Take the case of China”
3.v.take action with respect to (someone or something)
“How are we going to deal with this problem?”
/ˈmæs/
1.n.the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
2.n.(often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
“a batch of letters”
3.n.an ill-structured collection of similar things (objects or people)
| deal | mass | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈdil/ | /ˈmæs/ |
| Said | deel | mas |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 4 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | verb, noun | noun, verb, adjective |
| Senses | 22 | 11 |
| How common | Core | Common |
| Synonyms | cover, treat, handle | none recorded |
Full entry for deal · Full entry for mass · More comparisons