merit
Americannoun
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merits
plural
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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)
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merits,
present (3rd person singular)
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merited,
past participle, past
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meriting
present participle
verb (used without object)
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merits,
present (3rd person singular)
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merited,
past participle, past
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meriting
present participle
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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premeritverb (used with object)
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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
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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:
In the US legal system, prosecutors convene grand juries to weigh evidence and testimony and eventually vote on whether they merit criminal charges.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
More colleges are asking: Is it better to tell families their school is cheaper, instead of being more expensive but handing out big merit scholarships?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Combs denied Jane Doe's claims, which his lawyer described at the time as one of a number of civil cases "pushed forward by an attorney more focused on media headlines than legal merit".
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
I find that to be the trouble with the way people watch and talk about films these days, as if a movie’s merit is defined by whether or not it reflects the viewer.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
“The reward of merit for a magnanimous March,” as Laurie announced with a flourish.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
But each proposed investment should stand on its merits, and rapid technological change is itself a reason to scrutinize long-term technology investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
What’s notable is, not only did the court say that the equitable factors here didn’t support a stay, they also said the government was likely to lose on the merits.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
He said: "The merits or otherwise of a regional approach can be debated but it is essential that local views and decision-making are maintained, along with substantial transfer of powers."
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
As the first members of Gen Z hit 30, this topic merits attention.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
Whatever its meaning, its musical flaws or merits, Leningrad certainly succeeded in its patriotic purpose.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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
In the early days, spreads are often wider than merited, and volatility levels are unusually elevated.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 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
“They never would have merited a full-scale federal investigation,” he said.
From Salon ● Apr. 1, 2026
“Yes, you did. Yes, by God, you did. And I’ll tell you that pay has been more than I’ve merited by the nature of it.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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
In the brand-conscious ‘80s, the right item of designer clothing could make or break a kid’s popularity, meriting a Gartrell name drop in “A Shirt Story,” a Hall of Fame-level episode of “The Cosby Show.”
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2025
The Chicago Fed president acknowledged a reversal in rental and other housing inflation after months of easing was a "negative surprise" meriting a "proper element of caution", according to the report.
From Reuters ● Oct. 16, 2023
“They are accurate enough at this point to start meriting some consideration,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2023
His vanity seems to be as much gratified, as if he had been relating some performance meriting approbation.
From The American Quarterly Review, No. 17, March 1831 by Robert Walsh
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.
