Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - treat

~1 v 1 »BEHAVE TOWARDS SB« always + adv/prep to behave towards someone in a particular way  (treat sb like/as)  (She treats me like one of the family. | Even though they were much younger, we treated them as equals. | badly treated/well treated)  (The prisoners were well treated by their guards. | treat sb with respect/contempt/kindness etc)  (Despite her seniority, Margot was never treated with much respect. | treat sb like dirt/a dog (=treat someone unkindly and without respect)) 2 »DEAL WITH STH« always + adv/prep to deal with or discuss something in a particular way  (treat sth as)  (Please treat this information as completely confidential. | treat sth favourably/seriously/carefully etc)  (Any complaint about safety standards must be treated very seriously.) 3 »MEDICAL« to try to cure an illness or injury by using drugs, hospital care, operations etc  (Nowadays malaria can be treated with drugs.) 4 »REGARD« always + adv/prep to regard an idea, subject, statement etc in a particular way  (treat sth as)  (She treats everything I say as some kind of joke.) 5 »BUY STH FOR SB« to buy something special for someone that you know they will enjoy  (treat sb to sth)  (We treated Mom to lunch at the Savoy. | treat yourself to sth (=buy yourself something special))  (I treated myself to a new dress.) 6 »PROTECT/CLEAN« to put a special substance on something or use a chemical process in order to protect, clean, or preserve it  (It is possible to treat sewage so that it can be used as fertilizer.)  (- see also trick or treat) treat with sth phr v formal to try to reach an official agreement with someone treat of sth phr v formal if a book, article etc treats of something, it is about that subject ~2 n 1 something special that you give someone or do for them because you know they will enjoy it  (Steven took his son to the zoo as a birthday treat.) 2 an unexpected event that gives you a lot of pleasure  (I really miss everyone, and getting a letter from home is a big treat.) 3 my treat spoken used to tell someone that you will pay for something such as a meal for them  (Let's go out for dinner - my treat this time.) 4 go down a treat BrE informal if something goes down a treat, people like it very much  (Brightly coloured building blocks always go down a treat with toddlers.) 5 look/work a treat BrE informal to look very good or work very well  (The sports ground looked a treat, with all the flags flying.)