deserveverb [ T not continuous ]
uk/dɪˈzɜːv/us/dɪˈzɝːv/B1 to have earned or to be given something because of the way you have behaved or the qualities you have:
After all that hard work, you deserve a holiday.
Chris deserves our special thanks for all his efforts.
I hope they get the punishment they deserve.
[ + to infinitive ] They certainly deserved to win that game.
More examples
- They deserve praise for all their hard work.
- The proposals that you have put forward deserve serious consideration.
- A business as poorly managed as that one doesn't deserve to succeed.
- You should treat those remarks with the contempt that they deserve.
- He was a good strong leader, she said, who deserved his party's unreserved support.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Deserving and deserved
- birthright
- come
- comeuppance
- deserts
- deserved
- deservedly
- deserving
- get your just deserts idiom
- had it coming (to you) idiom
- hard-earned
- he/she deserves whatever/everything he/she gets idiom
- just
- merit
- serve
- serve sb right idiom
- well earned
- worthy
- worthy
Idiom(s)
sb deserves a medal
he/she deserves whatever/everything he/she gets