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¹desert

noun des·ert \ˈde-zərt\

Definition of DESERT

a : arid land with usually sparse vegetation; especially : such land having a very warm climate and receiving less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of sporadic rainfall annually

b : an area of water apparently devoid of life

archaic : a wild uninhabited and uncultivated tract

: a desolate or forbidding area <lost in a desert of doubt>

— de·ser·tic \de-ˈzər-tik\ adjective

— des·ert·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

Examples of DESERT

Satellite images taken this year and 20 years ago show that the desert is in retreat thanks to a resurgence of trees. —Andy Coghlan, New Scientist, 14-20 Oct. 2006
The coastal plain is a desert in terms of precipitation—less than six inches fall annually—but what falls as snow stays to be later distributed by the wind. —John Hildebrand, Harper's, November 2003
The house finch, a songbird native to the Western desert, has proved to be highly adaptable, having rapidly colonized the Eastern states after its release on Long Island in the early 1940's. —Jane E. Brody, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2002
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Origin of DESERT

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin desertum, from Latin, neuter of desertus, past participle of deserere to desert, from de- + serere to join together — more at series

First Known Use: 13th century

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

Rhymes with DESERT

advert, alert, assert, avert, bellwort, birthwort, Blackshirt, brownshirt, bush shirt, camp shirt, colewort, concert, convert, covert, dessert, dissert, divert, dress shirt, evert, exert, expert, exsert, figwort, fleawort, glasswort, hair shirt, Hastert, hornwort, inert, insert, invert, lousewort, lungwort, madwort, milkwort, mugwort, nightshirt, outskirt, overt, pay dirt, pervert, pilewort, ragwort, redshirt, revert, ribwort, saltwort, sandwort, Schubert, seagirt, sea squirt, soapwort, spearwort, spleenwort, stitchwort, stonewort, stuffed shirt, subvert, sweatshirt, toothwort, T-shirt, ungirt

²desert

adjective des·ert \ˈde-zərt\

Definition of DESERT

: desolate and sparsely occupied or unoccupied <a desert island>

: of or relating to a desert (see ¹desert)

archaic : forsaken

Examples of DESERT

While my very American mother swabbed the dishes, Dad lingered at the dinner table, recreating in visceral detail the taste of mint in a Bedouin teacup under a desert sky, or the golden plumage of his father's saluki dogs, or the filigreed robes of the young king at the camel races. —Diana Abu-Jaber, Vogue, May 2007
… the place in the Texas Panhandle where Highway 66 rolled down off the land of farms and ranches into the beginnings of the desert grassland and red-rock country that dominated New Mexico. —Susan Croce Kelly, Route 66, 1988
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Origin of DESERT

(see ¹desert)

First Known Use: 13th century

Other Ecology Terms

Malthusian, anthropogenic, biomass, carbon footprint, crepuscular, niche, sere, symbiosis, taiga, tundra

³desert

noun de·sert \di-ˈzərt\

Definition of DESERT

: the quality or fact of meriting reward or punishment

: deserved reward or punishment —usually used in plural <got their just deserts>

: excellence, worth

Origin of DESERT

Middle English deserte, from Anglo-French, from feminine of desert, past participle of deservir to deserve

First Known Use: 13th century

⁴desert

verb de·sert \di-ˈzərt\

: to go away from (a place) : to leave (a place)

: to leave and stop helping or supporting (someone or something)

of a useful quality or ability : to no longer be with (someone) in a time of need

Full Definition of DESERT

transitive verb

: to withdraw from or leave usually without intent to return <desert a town>

a : to leave in the lurch <desert a friend in trouble>

b : to abandon (military service) without leave

intransitive verb

: to quit one's post, allegiance, or service without leave or justification; especially : to abandon military duty without leave and without intent to return

— de·sert·er noun

See desert defined for English-language learners

Examples of DESERT

Boulet saw his longtime partner desert him in the midst of the storm, then had his wife and daughter skip town in its aftermath. —Mike Flaherty, TV Guide, 10-16 Sept. 2007
Left alone for a moment, he feels mournful, bereft—and then panicky, when he thinks he has been deserted again. —Richard Corliss, Time, 7 Mar. 2005
But now the building seemed deserted at two in the afternoon, and I soon learned that the paper, incredibly, was forced to advertise for applicants to the staff. —Arthur Miller, Timebends,1987
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Origin of DESERT

French déserter, from Late Latin desertare, frequentative of Latin deserere

First Known Use: 1603

Related to DESERT

Synonyms: defect (from), rat (on)

Antonyms: reclaim

Synonym Discussion of DESERT

abandon, desert, forsake mean to leave without intending to return. abandon suggests that the thing or person left may be helpless without protection <abandoned children>. desert implies that the object left may be weakened but not destroyed by one's absence <a deserted town>. forsake suggests an action more likely to bring impoverishment or bereavement to that which is forsaken than its exposure to physical dangers <a forsaken lover>.

DESERTED Defined for Kids

¹desert

noun des·ert \ˈde-zərt\

Definition of DESERT for Kids

: a dry land with few plants and little rainfall

²desert

noun de·sert \di-ˈzərt\

Definition of DESERT for Kids

: a reward or punishment that a person deserves <He got his just deserts.>

³desert

verb de·sert \di-ˈzərt\

de·sert·edde·sert·ing

Definition of DESERT for Kids

: to leave usually without intending to return <The entire population deserted the town.>

: to leave a person or a thing that one should stay with <The soldier did not desert his post.>

: to fail in time of need <My courage deserted me.>

— de·sert·er noun

Headscratcher for DESERT

There are three words spelled desert. One means a dry land, one means what a person deserves, and one means to abandon a place or person. But none mean the goodies you eat after dinner—that's your dessert!