Skip to main content
to deserve

to deserve

∞ 1.9
Have earned something because of what you do or who you are
  • verb
  • /dɪˈzɜrv/
: merecer
  • Those victims deserve their time in this courtroom.
  • deserve attention
  • deserve credit
  • deserve respect

But you will always deserve a Styrofoam cup.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • I'm treating her the way that she deserves to be treated.

  • About Gary, you deserve more than that cup of coffee.

  • What did I do to deserve all these nice products?

  • People that have been here deserve the right to have the same access.

  • You both deserve a win.

  • All of America's children deserve a great education.

  • You and Marty deserve a date night.

  • In fact, the Obama administration deserves credit for managing to get any resolution passed at all.

    Academic text (2011)
  • And, you know, rightly so, designers deserve to get paid.

  • You both deserve a win after all your hard work this season.

Synonyms

to earn
vsto deserve
861 1.0

To get respect from others because you behave well

focuses on worthiness from actions or qualities rather than actual receipt
to merit
vsto deserve
47 3.9

To deserve praise or a reward

also covers being worthy of punishment as well as reward
to command
vsto deserve
46 5.2

To deserve and get respect or a high price

emphasizes worthiness instead of actually getting respect or payment

Phrasal Verbs

To be worthy of something better than what one has now

How Deserving

to deserve
∞ 1.9
to earn
861 1.0
to warrant
132 5.5

Surface Forms

deserve infinitive
deserved past
deserved past participle
deserving present participle
deserves third person singular

Morphology

deserve = serve (opaque) = de + serve

Although formationally de- + serve is identifiable, the modern meaning 'be worthy of' is not a predictable consequence of 'serve' plus 'de-' for most learners.

Etymology

Deserve comes from Latin parts de- and servire, with serve meaning 'to serve', as in service. Think of it as someone who has 'served' or worked enough to 'earn' something, so today to deserve something is to be 'worthy' of it because of what you did.