merit

Syllables: mer·itUK/ˈmɛɹɪt//ˈmɛɹɪt/

merit noun: a claim to commendation or a reward.

Noun

merit (countable and uncountable, plural merits)

(countable) A claim to commendation or a reward.
- [R]eputation is an idle and moſt falſe impoſition , oft got without merit and loſt without deſeruing.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act...
(countable) A mark or token of approbation or to recognize excellence.
- For her good performance in the examination, her teacher gave her ten merits.
- Thoſe laurel groves (the merits of thy youth), / Which thou from Mahomet didſt greatly gain, / While, bold aſſertor of reſiſtleſs truth, / Thy ſword did godlike liberty maintain, / Muſt from thy brow their falling honours ſhed, / And their tranſplanted wreaths muſt deck a worthier head.a. 1722 (date written), Matthew Prior, “An Ode Humbly Inscrib’d to the Queen”, in The Poetical Works of Matthew Prior […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan, […], published 1779, →OCLC, stanza...
Antonyms:

demerit
Something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward.
- His reward for his merit was a check for $50.
- Such was Roſcommon—not more learn’d than good; / With Manners gen’rous as his Noble Blood; / To him the Wit of Greece and Rome was known, / And ev’ry Author’s Merit but his own.1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC, page 42
Synonyms:

excellence, value, worth

Antonyms:

demerit
(Jainism, uncountable) The sum of all the good deeds that a person does which determines the quality of the person's next state of existence and contributes to the person's growth towards enlightenment.
- to acquire or make merit
- It is no small tax upon the people to support their [Buddhist] priests, but they do it with a willing heart. When I was once at the old capital, I saw a woman, from her own stock, feed more than fifty priests, who came to her in his turn, and received his portion. [...] If I had asked her why she...1855 October, “Siamese Merit-making”, in The Church Missionary Gleaner, volume V (New Series), London: Seeley, Jackson and Halliday […], →OCLC, page 118
(uncountable) Usually in the plural form the merits: the substantive rightness or wrongness of a legal argument, a lawsuit, etc., as opposed to technical matters such as the admissibility of evidence or points of legal procedure; (by extension) the overall good or bad quality, or rightness or wrongness, of some other thing.
- Even though the plaintiff was ordered by the judge to pay some costs for not having followed the correct procedure, she won the case on the merits.
- The Plaintiff muſt ſhew Cauſe either on the Merits, or upon filing Exceptions; if upon the Merits, the Court may put what Terms they pleaſe on him; as bringing in the Money, or paying it to the Parties, ſubject to the Order of the Court, [...]1740, [Mathew Bacon], “Injunctions”, in A New Abridgment of the Law. By a Gentleman of the Middle Temple, volume III, in the Savoy [London]: Printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, (assigns of E....
(countable, obsolete) The quality or state of deserving retribution, whether reward or punishment.
- Be it known, that we the greateſt are mis-thoght / For things that others do : and when we fall, / We anſwer others merits, in our name / Are therefore to be pittied.c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...

Verb

merit (third-person singular simple present merits, present participle meriting, simple past and past participle merited)

(transitive) To deserve, to earn.
- Her performance merited wild applause.
- Oh! France! charming country! where I had the good fortune to be born! one never quits thee with impunity. Celebrated for the rich beauty of thy soil, for the sociability of thy inhabitants, for all the comforts of civilized life, thou meritest thy reputation, and nothing is so rare.1806, “Art. I.—Voyages en Italie, &c. Travels in Italy and Sicily, Made in 1801 and 1802. By M. Creuzé de Lesser, Member of the Legislative Body. 8vo. Paris. 1806. Imported by De Conchy. [book...
Synonyms:

bear
(intransitive) To be deserving or worthy.
- They were punished as they merited.
- [A]nd yet he bode them do yt, and they were bounde to obaye and meryted and deserued by theyr obedyēce.1532, Thomas More, The Cōfutacyon of Tyndales Answere […], prentyd at London: By Wyllyam Rastell, →OCLC, page cclxxiiii
(obsolete, rare, transitive) To reward.
- Thus charg’d thy sire, which thou forgett’st: yet now those thoughts appease / That torture thy great spirit with wrath; which if thou wilt give surcease, / The king will merit it with gifts ; and if thou wilt give ear / I’ll tell you how much he offers thee:—yet thou sitt’st angry here.[1611?], Homer, “Book IX”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter, →OCLC; republished as The Iliads of Homer, Prince of Poets, […], new...

merit meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

merit in Hindi

claim to commendation or a reward: क़द्र qadra
something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward: गुण guṇ, क़द्र qadra
(Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does: पुण्य puṇya

merit in Tamil

சிறப்பு, தகுதி, மதிப்பு, திறமானம, தகுதிப்பாடு

merit in Marathi

merit, competency, qualification: योग्यता yogyatā

merit in Urdu

merit, virtue: گن gun
merit: یوگیتو yogyatva, یوگیتا yogyatā

More languagesFewer languages

merit in Bengali: সদ্গুণ, গুণ, মূল্য, দাগী করা
merit in Telugu: పుణ్యము puṇyamu
merit in Malayalam: യോഗ്യത yōgyata, അർഹത aṟhata, അർഹിക്കുക aṟhikkuka, ഗുണം guṇaṁ
merit in Kannada: ಬೆಲೆ, ಹೊಗಳಿಕೆ, ಹಿರಿಮೆ, ಸಯ್ಪು
merit in Punjabi: ਯੋਗਤਾ yogtā, ਪੁੰਨ punn
merit in Sanskrit: गुण guṇa, अर्हति arhati, पुण्य puṇya
merit in Assamese: গুণ gun
merit in Arabic: جَدَارَة jadāra
merit in Thai: บุญ bun
merit in Myanmar: ကုသိုလ် ku.suil, ပုည pu.nya.

Examples of merit in a sentence

The answer will never refer to his merits, his virtues, but always to his possessions.1877, Richard Fuller, “Sermon Thirteenth. The Gospel Stifled by Covetousness.”, in Sermons by Richard Fuller, […] (Second Series)...
At funerals, acts of sharing religious merit are central and relatives of the deceased make merit in order to ensure that the departed family member will have a favourable rebirth.2015, Monica Lindberg Falk, “Communication across Boundaries”, in Post-Tsunami Recovery in Thailand: Socio-cultural Responses (The Modern...
What other could I answer save "I come"? / I said it, somewhat with that colour ting'd / Which oftimes pardon meriteth for man.1814, Dante Alighieri, “Canto V”, in H[enry] F[rancis] Cary, transl., The Vision; or, Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, of Dante Alighieri....
And on the plausible assumption that the more meriting of some good one is the more good one merits, the principle would support allocating more of the help to her the greater her needs.2014, Hanoch Sheinman, “Tort Law and Distributive Justice”, in John Oberdiek, editor, Philosophical Foundations of the Law of Torts...

All 40 example sentences with merit

Synonyms of merit

Antonyms

demerit

Forms of merit

Noun
plural	merits
Verb
third-person singular present	merits
present participle	meriting
past participle	merited
past	merited
second-person singular present (archaic)	meritest
second-person singular past (archaic)	meritedst
third-person singular present (archaic)	meriteth

Past tense of merit: merited

Plural of merit: merits

Origin of merit

From Middle English merit, merite (“quality of person’s character or conduct deserving of reward or punishment; such reward or punishment; excellence, worthiness; benefit; right to be rewarded for spiritual service; retribution at doomsday; virtue through which Jesus Christ brings about salvation; virtue possessed by a holy person; power of a pagan deity”), from Anglo-Norman merit, merite, Old French merite (“moral worth, reward; merit”) (modern French mérite), from Latin meritum (“that which one deserves, deserts; benefit, reward, merit; service; kindness; importance, value, worth; blame, demerit, fault; grounds, reason”), neuter of meritus (“deserved, earned, obtained; due, proper, right; deserving, meritorious”), perfect passive participle of mereō (“to deserve, earn, obtain, merit; to earn a living”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to allot, assign”). The English word is probably cognate with Ancient Greek μέρος (méros, “component, part; portion, share; destiny, fate, lot”) and cognate with Old Occitan merit.

From Middle English meriten, from Middle French meriter, Old French meriter (“to deserve, merit”) (modern French mériter), from merite: see further in Etymology 1. The word is cognate with Italian meritare (“to deserve, merit; to be worth; to earn”), Latin meritāre (“to earn regularly; to serve as a soldier”), Spanish meritar (“to deserve, merit; to earn”).

Words formed from merit

Phrases with merit

Words that rhyme with merit

Questions about merit

What does merit mean?: Merit means a claim to commendation or a reward.
What is merit in Hindi?: Merit in Hindi is क़द्र (qadra), गुण (guṇ), पुण्य (puṇya). See Merit meaning in Hindi.
How do you use merit in a sentence?: The answer will never refer to his merits, his virtues, but always to his possessions.
What part of speech is merit?: Merit can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce merit?: Merit is pronounced /ˈmɛɹɪt/ (UK).
What is the plural of merit?: The plural of merit is merits.

Words near merit in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-merit.ogg.

Cite this entry: “merit.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/merit. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.