Definition of merit

• n. - The quality or state of deserving well or ill; desert.
• n. - Esp. in a good sense: The quality or state of deserving well; worth; excellence.
• n. - Reward deserved; any mark or token of excellence or approbation; as, his teacher gave him ten merits.
• n. - To earn by service or performance; to have a right to claim as reward; to deserve; sometimes, to deserve in a bad sense; as, to merit punishment.
• n. - To reward.
• v. i. - To acquire desert; to gain value; to receive benefit; to profit.