the quality or state of deserving well or ill; desert.-esp. in a good sense: the quality or state of deserving well; worth; excellence.-reward deserved; any mark or token of excellence or approbation; as, his teacher gave him ten merits.-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.-to reward.-to acquire desert; to gain value; to receive benefit; to profit.