merit
Americannoun
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claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth.
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something that deserves or justifies a reward or commendation; a commendable quality, act, etc..
The book's only merit is its sincerity.
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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.
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Often merits. the state or fact of deserving; desert.
to treat people according to their merits.
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Roman Catholic Church. worthiness of spiritual reward, acquired by righteous acts made under the influence of grace.
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Obsolete. something that is deserved, whether good or bad.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
adjective
noun
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worth or superior quality; excellence
work of great merit
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(often plural) a deserving or commendable quality or act
judge him on his merits
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Christianity spiritual credit granted or received for good works
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the fact or state of deserving; desert
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an obsolete word for reward
verb
Synonym Usage
See desert 3.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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self-meritnoun
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overmeritverb
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half-meritedadjective
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meritedadjective
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meritlessadjective
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unmeritedadjective
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well-meritedadjective
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meritedlyadverb
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unmeritedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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meritsimple
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meritssimple
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have meritedperfect
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has meritedperfect
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am meritingprogressive
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are meritingprogressive
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is meritingprogressive
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have been meritingperfect progressive
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has been meritingperfect progressive
Past
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meritedsimple
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had meritedperfect
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was meritingprogressive
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were meritingprogressive
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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
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Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy
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Ungifted
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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.
He said he was returning the Gold Officer's Cross of the Polish Order of Merit.
From Barron's • Jun. 20, 2026
In 2012 he received the coveted Order of Merit, which Queen Elizabeth II presented to him at Buckingham Palace.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
“If we just meet with clients once a year, there’s less of a relationship,” said Kat Grier, an Atlanta-based certified financial planner at Merit Financial Advisors.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026
The latter received a Congressional Medal of Honor and the former a Legion of Merit award for Extraordinary Heroism.
From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026
These included the Presidential Medal for Merit, then the government’s highest civilian honor, presented by General Groves and Bob Sproul at a Berkeley ceremony in early 1946.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions 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.
