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
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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:
“You deserve to hear from me directly, and I’m sorry that it’s taken this long,” Blair said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 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
"I believe that ghosts were once living human beings, so they deserve our respect," she says.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
“Parents deserve real control, and companies must design for safety, not addiction,” Uthmeier said in announcing the measure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
“We can have you home in a few hours. But I insist that you and Brightbill stay a while, here in my apartment. You both deserve some peace and comfort, and I’d love the company.”
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
"I see God in my animals, and Vantara is my temple," Anant, a devout Hindu, has said, adding: "Every being, no matter how big or how small, deserves dignity."
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
"Agnes deserves justice. Her daughter Stacy deserves answers about what happened. And as a family, we deserve to be treated with dignity and kept informed about proceedings that profoundly affect our lives."
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Measuring impact deserves the same ambition as making it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 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
That Sandy deserves anything bad because of the things his brother and father and grandfather have done.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
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
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
Wyoming paleontologist Bill Wahl, who has devoted much of his career to searching for fossils across the state, recognized that the unusual specimen deserved closer examination.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
This theater deserved to be remembered as she had lived.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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
"Very few people favour cuts, disabled people are seen as among the most deserving recipients of support, and proposals to reduce disability benefits appear politically risky across the political spectrum."
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
"In the 1840 narrative, Byfield sought to impress wealthy patrons by presenting himself as a dutiful soldier and deserving veteran," O'Keeffe says.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
This argument is ridiculous, as in deserving of ridicule.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
You are no longer part of “us,” the deserving.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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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.
