noun
desert
DEHZ-uht
noun
1
A large, dry area of land with little rainfall, vegetation, or water, often sandy or rocky.
"They crossed the Sahara Desert by camel."
"Very few plants can survive in the desert heat."
2
What someone deserves, whether reward or punishment (usually in the phrase "just deserts").
"He got his just deserts when the scheme finally collapsed."
verb
1
To abandon a place, person, or duty, especially when you had promised or were obligated to stay.
"He deserted his family without any warning."
"The soldier deserted his post during the night."
How to Use Desert
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA dry, barren land (noun), or to abandon someone/something you were meant to stick with (verb).
Common mistake
Easily confused with "dessert" (the sweet food eaten after a meal) — "desert" has one S, "dessert" has two.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
the Sahara desert
desert a post
just deserts
Word Forms
deserted past tense, deserts plural, deserts plural, deserts singular
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Etymology
From Old French desert, from Latin desertum, "an abandoned place," from deserere, "to abandon." Not related to "dessert" (the sweet course), despite the shared spelling root.