deserve

Universal Words 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: [VN] 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? * [Vtoinf] They didn't deserve to win. * He deserves to be locked up for ever for what he did. [also V-ing] IDIOMS sb deserves a medal (spoken) used to say that you admire sb because they have done sth difficult or unpleasant: She deserves a medal for teaching those 5-year-olds all day! get what you deserve