Word.ws English Dictionary

merit badge

Syllables: me·rit badge/ˈmɛɹɪt ˌbæd͡ʒ/

merit badge noun: an embroidered cloth patch awarded to a youth member of the Boy Scouts of America or other scouting organization who successfully completes an activity within an area of study (the badge bearing an image representing the activity), which is either sewn on to the sleeve of the scout's uniform or a sash worn with the uniform; hence, the award itself.

merit badge: an embroidered cloth patch awarded to a youth member of the Boy Scouts of America or other scouting...
Image: Douglas Muth from Ardmore, PA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

merit badge (plural merit badges)

  1. (scouting) An embroidered cloth patch awarded to a youth member of the Boy Scouts of America or other scouting organization who successfully completes an activity within an area of study (the badge bearing an image representing the activity), which is either sewn on to the sleeve of the scout's uniform or a sash worn with the uniform; hence, the award itself.
    Synonyms:
    badge of merit

Synonyms of merit badge

Forms of merit badge

pluralmerit badges

Origin of merit badge

From merit + badge.

Words formed from merit badge

Questions about merit badge

What does merit badge mean?
Merit badge means an embroidered cloth patch awarded to a youth member of the Boy Scouts of America or other scouting organization who successfully completes an activity within an area of study (the badge bearing an image representing the activity), which is either sewn on to the sleeve of the scout's uniform or a sash worn with the uniform; hence, the award itself.
What part of speech is merit badge?
Merit badge is a noun.
How do you pronounce merit badge?
Merit badge is pronounced /ˈmɛɹɪt ˌbæd͡ʒ/ (UK).
What is the plural of merit badge?
The plural of merit badge is merit badges.

Words near merit badge in the dictionary

  1. meristoderm
  2. meristoderms
  3. meristogenetic
  4. meristogenous
  5. merit
  6. merit badge
  7. merit badge college
  8. merit badge colleges
  9. merit badge universities
  10. merit badge university
  11. merit badger

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: merit badge (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-merit badge.wav.

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