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