de·serve [deservedeservesdeserveddeserving] BrE [dɪˈzɜːv] NAmE [dɪˈzɜːrv] verb (not used in the progressive tenses)if sb/sth deserves sth, it is right that they should have it, because of the way they have behaved or because of what they are •~ sth You deserve a rest after all that hard work. • The report deserves careful consideration. •One player in particular deserves a mention. •What have I done to deserve this? •~ to do sth They didn't deserve to win. •He deserves to be locked up for ever for what he did. •~ doing sth Several other points deserve mentioning. more at one good turn deserves another at ↑turnn. Idioms: ↑deserve all you get▪ ↑get what you deserve▪ ↑somebody deserves a medal Verb forms:
Word Origin: Middle English: from Old French deservir, from Latin deservire ‘serve well or zealously’.
Thesaurus: deserve verb T •You deserve a rest after all that work. earn • |formal merit • deserve/earn a rest/drink deserve/merit a mention deserve/merit attention/consideration/recognition Deserve or earn? Deserve can be used to talk about either sth pleasant sb should have for doing good, or a punishment for sth bad; earn is only used to talk about sth good.
Example Bank: •He finally received the recognition that he so richly deserved. •His work received only a tiny mention in the journal; he deserves better. •It's true she made a mistake but she hardly deserves to lose her job. •Philip's efforts clearly deserve praise. •She deserves some reward for all her hard work. •This hotel fully deserves its four-star grading. •You really deserve a medal! •They didn't deserve to win.
