merit
Americannoun
-
merits
plural
-
claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth.
-
something that deserves or justifies a reward or commendation; a commendable quality, act, etc..
The book's only merit is its sincerity.
-
merits, the inherent rights and wrongs of a matter, as a lawsuit, unobscured by procedural details, technicalities, personal feelings, etc..
The case will be decided on its merits alone.
-
Often merits. the state or fact of deserving; desert.
to treat people according to their merits.
-
Roman Catholic Church. worthiness of spiritual reward, acquired by righteous acts made under the influence of grace.
-
Obsolete. something that is deserved, whether good or bad.
verb (used with object)
-
merits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
merited,
past participle, past
-
meriting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
merits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
merited,
past participle, past
-
meriting
present participle
adjective
noun
-
worth or superior quality; excellence
work of great merit
-
(often plural) a deserving or commendable quality or act
judge him on his merits
-
Christianity spiritual credit granted or received for good works
-
the fact or state of deserving; desert
-
an obsolete word for reward
verb
Synonym Usage
See desert 3.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
self-meritnoun
-
overmeritverb
-
premeritverb (used with object)
-
half-meritedadjective
-
meritedadjective
-
meritlessadjective
-
unmeritedadjective
-
well-meritedadjective
-
meritedlyadverb
-
unmeritedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
meritsimple
-
meritssimple
-
have meritedperfect
-
has meritedperfect
-
am meritingprogressive
-
are meritingprogressive
-
is meritingprogressive
-
have been meritingperfect progressive
-
has been meritingperfect progressive
Past
-
meritedsimple
-
had meritedperfect
-
was meritingprogressive
-
were meritingprogressive
-
had been meritingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of merit
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Latin meritum “act worthy of praise (or blame),” noun use of neuter of meritus, past participle of merēre “to earn”
Explanation
Merit means "worthiness or excellence." If you receive a certificate of merit in school, you are being recognized for doing a good job. As a verb, merit means "deserve." Your certificate might merit a prominent place on your bulletin board! You will often hear the phrases "merit-based promotion" and "merit-based pay," which come up when employees are pushing against a system in which time on the job — and not job performance — determines when workers are promoted and how much they are paid. Using the word merit suggests impartiality and objectivity — such as when you swear off a prejudiced approach to something and vow to "judge it on its merits."
Vocabulary lists containing merit
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Ungifted
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Tawa Supermarket has said the claims are without merit and will fight them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
From a business standpoint, analysts see merit to a potential combination, which Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday is currently under discussion.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Does that mean the administration’s suit has merit?
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
"We could win with luck, but we won with calmness and with all merit," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
“The reward of merit for a magnanimous March,” as Laurie announced with a flourish.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Trump's proclamation notes the existing protection, but says "nonetheless, the Oval Office merits specific recognition and protective management as a discrete historic structure of national significance".
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Sorkin responded to criticisms with pleasant diplomacy, even questioning his own merits as a director versus a screenwriter.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
My focus is not on the substantive merits of the charges, the government’s exercise of its prosecutorial discretion to pursue these charges, or the close-to-an-election timing of the initiation of the prosecution.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026
She works on programming art and installations at LAX that showcase the city’s vibrant arts scene, including its literary merits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
“Oh, I know that! But, Henry, it’s when there’s a choice, and it’s my own judgment of the merits, that’s when it gets me. I passed Judge Kendal’s boy and he was killed in training.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Some have queried if it would be merited.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The referee used the video assistant referee to review the play and determined it merited a red card.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Investor demand and limited stock supply means options implied volatility will likely be higher than merited.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
This latter group included people with the good sense and courage to express disagreement with the president and urge caution when it was merited.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
“If it were a sceptre,” Franklin remarked, “he has merited it and would become it.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
The book’s characters relate their stories in discrete sections that peel back time, revealing shocking secrets and meriting re-evaluation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
"They are accurate enough at this point to start meriting some consideration," he said.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2023
One of the most entertaining teams in the Premier League and fully meriting a place in the Europa League for the first time in Brighton's history.
From BBC ● May 29, 2023
The crux of the case before the Stuttgart court is whether Mercedes-Benz knowingly deceived customers by controlling the purification of exhaust gas, thus meriting claims for damages.
From Reuters ● Jul. 12, 2022
Rising out of these considerations are two others equally meriting attention.
From Old-Fashioned Ethics and Common-Sense Metaphysics With Some of Their Applications by William Thomas Thornton
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
