deserve

deserve — verb

1. To be entitled to receive something — whether good or bad — as a fitting result

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

To be entitled to receive something — whether good or bad — as a fitting result of your actions, the way you behaved, or the kind of person you are.

Example

After working double shifts all week, Owen deserved the weekend off.

deserve + noun phrase — reward after effort

The rescue team's brave efforts deserve our full support and gratitude.

deserve + noun phrase — inanimate subject

Common collocations
  • deserve respect
  • deserve attention
  • deserve a chance
  • deserve punishment
  • deserve better
  • well deserved
Synonyms
  • merit

    More formal than deserve; often used with abstract nouns like 'attention' or 'consideration', suggesting objective worth rather than personal entitlement.

  • warrant

    Emphasises strong justification for a specific response or action; more formal and narrower in use.

  • earn

    Focuses on the effort or work that leads to the reward; implies a more direct cause-and-effect relationship.

Antonyms
  • be unworthy of

    Formal expression meaning to lack the qualities or actions that would justify receiving something.

Grammar Patterns

deserve + noun phrase

deserve + to-infinitive

not deserve + noun phrase

Usage Note

Deserve is a stative verb and is rarely used in progressive tenses (e.g. 'is deserving' is common only as the adjective 'deserving of'). It is always followed directly by a noun phrase or a to-infinitive — never by the preposition 'of' (compare the adjective form: 'deserving of').

Common Mistakes

She deserves of a promotion.
She deserves a promotion.
'deserve' is transitive and does not take the preposition 'of'.
He is deserving a reward right now.
He deserves a reward.
'deserve' is stative and not used in continuous tenses.
Idioms

get what you deserve

idiom

To receive a result — usually a negative one — that matches your actions or behaviour, especially when it serves as fair punishment.

After years of cheating his customers, the businessman finally got what he deserved when his company went bankrupt.

deserve a break

idiom

To have earned a period of rest or an opportunity to relax, usually after hard work or a difficult period.

After studying every evening for three months, Saira felt she deserved a break before the next term started.

somebody deserves a medal

idiom

This expression is used to praise someone for doing something very difficult or unpleasant.

Maya deserves a medal for finishing that marathon in the rain.

After cleaning the entire house alone, Brian deserves a medal.

one good turn deserves another

idiom

This expression means that if someone helps you, you should help them in return.

Sara helped me with my project, so I helped her with hers—one good turn deserves another.

When my neighbor fixed my fence, I baked him cookies because one good turn deserves another.

Word family

  • deserved
    adjectiveB2
  • deserving
    adjectiveB2
  • undeserved
    adjectiveC1
  • deservedly
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Deserve' is the most versatile and common word — you can use it for rewards, punishments, and everyday outcomes. 'Merit' is more formal and suggests objective worth rather than personal entitlement ('Her research merits serious attention'). 'Warrant' implies strong justification for a specific response, often neutral or negative ('His actions warrant an investigation'). 'Earn' emphasises the effort that led to the result ('She earned the promotion through hard work'), while 'be worthy of' is more literary and typically used with abstract qualities ('This cause is worthy of your support'). In everyday conversation, 'deserve' is the natural choice.

merit ↗warrant ↗earn ↗be worthy of

Common collocations

Nouns

  • deserve respect
  • deserve attention
  • deserve recognition
  • deserve praise
  • deserve punishment
  • deserve a chance
  • deserve a promotion
  • deserve better treatment

Adverbs

  • really deserve
  • certainly deserve
  • hardly deserve
  • truly deserve
  • well deserve

Phrases

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'deserve' entered English through Old French 'deservir', meaning 'to serve well' or 'to earn by service'. The French word came from Latin 'deservire', which combined 'de-' (meaning 'completely') with 'servire' ('to serve'). The original idea was that if you served someone well, you had earned a reward — a link that later broadened to cover any fair result of a person's actions, whether good or bad.