merits

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of merit.

   The committee debated the relative merits of the two proposals.

   Each candidate brought distinct merits to the role.

   Note

   Only the countable meanings of merit take this plural: claims to commendation, tokens of approval, things worth recognizing. The uncountable Jain sense stays singular. That sense is the sum of a person's good deeds, which shapes their next state of existence. One plural has grown into an idiom of its own, judging something "on the merits". The same spelling also serves the verb meaning "deserves".

2. 2
   nouncountable

   The intrinsic advantages of something, as opposed to advantages gained through politics or procedure.

   The board insisted on choosing the contractor strictly on its merits.

   Stripped of all the lobbying, the proposal still stood on its merits.

   Similarstrengths, advantages, virtues

   Oppositedemerits, weaknesses, drawbacks

   Note

   The everyday idiom is on the merits or on its merits: judging a thing by what it is rather than by who backs it. Even the boss's pet project can be rejected on the merits. The phrase is an extension of the courtroom sense, and it carries a note of fairness, implying that favor, lobbying and politics have been set aside.

3. 3
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of merit.

   This finding merits further investigation by the research team.

   The argument merits a serious response, not a quick dismissal.

   Note

   Usually followed straight by its object, with no preposition: a finding merits investigation, an argument merits a response. An older meaning, "rewards," is obsolete and rare, so "it merits praise" now means it deserves praise, never that it hands praise out. The spelling is shared with the noun plural, and only the sentence around it tells the two apart.

4. 4
   nouncountable

   The substance of a legal matter, as distinguished from questions of form or procedure.

   The appeal was dismissed on procedural grounds, so the merits were never argued.

   Counsel urged the tribunal to decide the dispute on its merits.

   Similarsubstance

   Note

   Lawyers set the merits against everything technical, such as the admissibility of evidence and points of procedure. A party can be strong on the merits and still lose, as plaintiffs do when procedural blunders set them back. The word is almost always plural and takes the article: the merits of the case, a dispute decided on the merits.

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