deserve
Americanverb (used with object)
-
deserves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deserved,
past participle, past
-
deserving
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
deserves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deserved,
past participle, past
-
deserving
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to be entitled to or worthy of; merit
-
obsolete to be worthy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
deservesimple
-
deservessimple
-
have deservedperfect
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has deservedperfect
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am deservingprogressive
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are deservingprogressive
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is deservingprogressive
-
have been deservingperfect progressive
-
has been deservingperfect progressive
Past
-
deservedsimple
-
had deservedperfect
-
was deservingprogressive
-
were deservingprogressive
-
had been deservingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deserve
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English deserven, from Anglo-French, Old French deservir, from Latin dēservīre “to devote oneself to the service of,” equivalent to dē- de- + servīre “to serve” ( see serve)
Explanation
We deserve things based on our actions. For example, many people believe murderers deserve the death penalty. Deserve is used in many ways, but it always carries a sense of balance or justice. If someone receives an award for their work, it means they deserve praise and attention. If you deserve a day off, it means you've been working hard and have earned a vacation. If you threw a book during class, you deserve a punishment of some kind. Many laws — and lots of arguments — are about deciding what different people deserve. It's often hard to tell.
Vocabulary lists containing deserve
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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Schooled
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History is made in PA: Clinton's DNC Acceptance Speech
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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.
See Examples For:
He also said that if there’s evidence that AI systems are conscious today, or conscious enough to deserve welfare, it must be immediately disclosed to the public so society can decide how to move forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
The league ought to give these pioneers the recognition they deserve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
He is still an adult, and I think I deserve the same respect I give him.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
"Just because you choose to live in a small town doesn't mean that you deserve less access to health care," she said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
They all giggle and tell her, “You deserve it!”
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
A gripping series has the finale it deserves.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
"Every Alaskan deserves a fair election, and they're going to get one," US Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters in Anchorage.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
“The agency is struggling to keep up with advanced driver tech, and this is another area that deserves more scrutiny,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
While the change will give investors a clearer picture for important revenue categories, Guggenheim analyst John DiFucci believes the new reporting structure deserves to be looked at with a “critical eye.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
If there's one person in our family who deserves the credit for the close-knit relationships between us cousins, it's Dayee Mehrdad, otherwise known as the true patriarch of our massive brood.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Prosecutor Elizabeth Espinosa said the brothers deserved the maximum punishment for their crimes, saying facts "paint a truly devastating picture".
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
Lichtenberg, who said he was now sober, living in a home and working in North Carolina with Lamb, said that Young got what he deserved.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Zuckerberg and Meta have been on the receiving end of a lot of bad headlines over the years, many of them fully deserved.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
These greats built the mecca they needed and deserved, debating its contours, wanting it to last.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
And the thought was that maybe I deserved this.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
Robert Pattinson, “Primetime” “Matt Damon does fantastic, unshowy work in ‘The Odyssey,’ in a performance that I think is deserving of the Oscar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
He was relentlessly self-documenting, building much of his public persona on social media, where he posed with piles of cash and announced the cars and money he gave to people whom he considered deserving.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Two categories stood out as particularly deserving of further investigation: reproductive symptoms, including changes in menstrual cycles, and problems involving body temperature, such as chills and hot flashes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
“There is no one more deserving of an exhibition of this scale than John Galliano,” Wintour told Vogue in July.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
But he had that look of eager, deserving expectation.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
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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.
