merit

1 any admirable quality or attribute; "work of great merit" [syn: virtue] [ant: demerit]

2 the quality of being deserving (e.g., deserving assistance); "there were many children whose deservingness he recognized and rewarded" [syn: deservingness, meritoriousness] v : be worthy or deserving; "You deserve a promotion after all the hard work you have done" [syn: deserve]

English

Pronunciation

• mĕr'ĭt

• Rhymes: -ɛrɪt

Noun

1. Something deserving either good or bad.
   • His reward for his merit was a check for $50.
2. Something worthy of a high rating.
3. A claim to commendation or reward.
4. The quality of deserving reward.

Synonyms

• worth
• value

Verb

1. To earn or to deserve.
2. To be worthy or deserving.

Derived terms

• merit-based
• merited
• meritorious
• meritoriousness
• meritoriously
• meritocracy
• meritocratic

The term merit is used in both Christianity and Buddhism. See:

• Merit (Catholicism)
• Merit (Buddhism)
• Meritocracy

merit can also mean:

• Merit (band), a rock band from Syracuse, New York.
• Merit (cigarettes), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria.
• Merit (legal), a legal term used in deciding a legal case.
• Merit, a trading name used by the British toy manufacturer J & L Randall.
• Merit, in Mathematics, Number Theory, the value of gn / log(pn) (see Prime gap)

MERIT (now known as UNU-MERIT) is the Maastricht Economic and social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology.

See also

• Meritt
• Merrit
• Merritt

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