1a. compassion or forbearance (see forbearance 1) shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power; also. lenient or compassionate treatment begged for mercyb. imprisonment rather than death imposed as penalty for first-degree murder

2a. a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion May God have mercy on us.b. a fortunate circumstance it was a mercy they found her before she froze

3. compassionate treatment of those in distress works of mercy among the poor

at the mercy of

wholly in the power of. with no way to protect oneself against

First Known Use: 13th century

See mercy defined for English-language learners

See mercy defined for kids

Explore Merriam-Webster

Examples of mercy in a Sentence

He is a vicious criminal who deserves no mercy .

She fell to her knees and asked for mercy .

They came on a mission of mercy to provide food and medical care for starving children.

It's a mercy that the building was empty when the fire started.

Thank heaven for small mercies .

Recent Examples of mercy from the Web

We were told that this Pope’s overriding theme was mercy .

Of course, all is at the mercy of the draw and Russia is seeded, as the tournament host.

As work on the Purple Line progresses, museum staff are ’a little nervous’ about what construction crews working on the Fairfax station will turn up The La Brea Tar Pits know no mercy .

Making America Great with love, compassion and mercy .

This month brings the gift of mercy. the gift of forgiveness, the gift of salvation.

Despite Trump’s Twitter silence throughout the hearing, the bar took mercy .

This anguished mercy killing haunts every beat of the movie.

The medical staff of mercy Clermont Hospital has awarded $18,000 in college scholarships to nine local high school students pursuing careers in health care.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mercy'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback .

Origin and Etymology of mercy

Middle English, from Anglo-French merci. from Medieval Latin merced-, merces. from Latin, price paid, wages, from merc-, merx merchandise