desert Meaning & Definition
What Does Desert Mean?
Desert is a noun that means arid land with usually sparse vegetation. It can also mean such land having a very warm climate and receiving less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of sporadic rainfall annually. As an adjective, it means remote and uninhabited or only sparsely inhabited. As a verb, it means to withdraw from or leave usually without intent to return.
Desert at a Glance
| Part of speech | noun, adjective, verb |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈde-zərt/ |
| Syllables | 2 |
| Synonyms | desolate, wild and lurch |
| Antonyms | amnesty, indemnity and pardon |
| Plural | deserts |
| Verb forms | deserts, deserting, deserted |
Desert Definition (Noun)
- arid land with usually sparse vegetation
- such land having a very warm climate and receiving less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of sporadic rainfall annually
How the pupfish ended up in the Nevada desert is not known for certain. / The first season is set in the desert of the Australian outback, while season two takes place against the lush greenery of Ireland.
- an area of water with too few nutrients to support abundant life
There are deserts within the ocean—places that, although not entirely barren, don't hold a lot of nutrients for marine life to fully thrive there.
- a place or area that does not have something interesting or important see also food desert
For many years, the city was a cultural desert, but now there are several museums.
- a wild uninhabited and uncultivated tract
Desert as an Adjective
- remote and uninhabited or only sparsely inhabited
stranded on a desert island
- of or relating to a desert see desert:1
- forsaken
Being native burghers of this desert city …
Desert as a Verb
- to withdraw from or leave usually without intent to return
desert a town / If the nest is disturbed, the bird may desert it. / The term rogue planet suggests that these objects desert their stars on purpose, striking out on their own to carve a new path through the Milky Way.
- to leave and stop helping or supporting (someone)
a vow to never desert a friend in trouble / The headlines landed with hard edges on L.A. fans who had come to assume their hometown hero would never desert them.
- to fail to remain with (someone) in a time of need
hoping our courage would not desert us
- to abandon (military service) without leave
desert the army
- to quit one's post, allegiance, or service without leave or justification
- to abandon military duty without leave and without intent to return
soldiers who deserted during the last weeks of the war
Noun
- deserved reward or punishment
- the quality or fact of meriting reward or punishment
… the gaiety of this rich lodging exceeds my imagination as much as it does my desert.
- excellence, worth
Only as desert can be proved by the acquisition of knowledge and the exhibition of high moral character …
Synonyms of Desert
Antonyms of Desert
Desert in a Sentence
They were marooned on a desert island in the Pacific.
You can't just drive off and desert me here, in the middle of nowhere.
Anyone found deserting will be punished.
just deserts
How the pupfish ended up in the Nevada desert is not known for certain.
The first season is set in the desert of the Australian outback, while season two takes place against the lush greenery of Ireland.
There are deserts within the ocean—places that, although not entirely barren, don't hold a lot of nutrients for marine life to fully thrive there.
For many years, the city was a cultural desert, but now there are several museums.
stranded on a desert island
Being native burghers of this desert city …
desert a town
If the nest is disturbed, the bird may desert it.
The term rogue planet suggests that these objects desert their stars on purpose, striking out on their own to carve a new path through the Milky Way.
a vow to never desert a friend in trouble
The headlines landed with hard edges on L.A. fans who had come to assume their hometown hero would never desert them.
hoping our courage would not desert us
desert the army
soldiers who deserted during the last weeks of the war
… the gaiety of this rich lodging exceeds my imagination as much as it does my desert.
Only as desert can be proved by the acquisition of knowledge and the exhibition of high moral character …
we were lost in the desert for days without food
the robbers got their just deserts
the volunteer became disillusioned with his candidate and deserted to a political rival
deserted the kids at the food court for some independent shopping
How the pupfish ended up in the Nevada desert is not known for certain. / The first season is set in the desert of the Australian outback, while season two takes place against the lush greenery of Ireland.
desert a town / If the nest is disturbed, the bird may desert it. / The term rogue planet suggests that these objects desert their stars on purpose, striking out on their own to carve a new path through the Milky Way.
a vow to never desert a friend in trouble / The headlines landed with hard edges on L.A. fans who had come to assume their hometown hero would never desert them.
Word Forms & Grammar
de·ser·tic adjective
des·ert·like adjective
desert
desertic
desertlike
deserts
desert island
de·sert·ed
de·sert·ing
de·serts
deserted
deserting
get her just deserts
get his just deserts
get my just deserts
get one's just deserts
get their just deserts
get your just deserts
gets her just deserts
gets his just deserts
gets my just deserts
gets one's just deserts
gets their just deserts
gets your just deserts
getting her just deserts
getting his just deserts
getting my just deserts
getting one's just deserts
getting their just deserts
getting your just deserts
got her just deserts
got his just deserts
got my just deserts
got one's just deserts
got their just deserts
got your just deserts
deserter
deserters
desert (countable and uncountable, plural deserts)
desert (not comparable)
desert (third-person singular simple present deserts, present participle deserting, simple past and past participle deserted)
desert (plural deserts)
Words That Rhyme With Desert
Origin of Desert
Origin 1: Middle English, "barren expanse of land (either wooded or arid), wasteland," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin dēserta "unfrequented places, wilderness," noun derivative from neuter plural (feminine singular in Late Latin) of dēsertus "empty of people, uninhabited" desert:2
Origin 2: Middle English desert, deserte "barren, uninhabited, deserted, forsaken," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin dēsertus "empty of people, uninhabited," from past participle of dēserere "to part company with, abandon, leave uninhabited" desert:3
Origin 3: borrowed from French déserter, going back to Old French, "to devastate, make uninhabited, abandon, leave," borrowed from Late Latin dēsertāre "to leave, abandon," frequentative of Latin dēserere "to part company with, abandon, leave uninhabited, leave in the lurch," from dē- de- + serere "to link together, join in a series" series
Origin 4: Middle English desert, dissert "fact of deserving reward or punishment, worthiness, merit," borrowed from Anglo-French desert, deserte, desserte "merit, reward, fact of deserving reward or punishment, wrongful conduct, reason, cause" (also continental Old & Middle French), derivative of deservir "to deserve, merit, earn, be entitled to" deserve
Origin 5: From Middle English desert (“wilderness”), from Old French desert, from Latin dēsertum, past participle of dēserō (“to abandon”). Generally displaced native Old English wēsten. False cognate of Egyptian dšrt.
Origin 6: Borrowed from French déserter, from Late Latin dēsertō, from Latin dēsertus, from dēserō (“abandon”).
Origin 7: From Middle English desert, deseert, from Old French deserte, from deservir (“to deserve”), from Vulgar Latin dēserviō (“to gain or merit by giving service”).
First Known Use
13th century
1603t
Pronouncing Desert
The standard pronunciation of desert is /ˈde-zərt/, spoken in 2 syllables, with the main stress on the first syllable (de).
Common Questions About Desert
Is desert a noun or an adjective?
Desert is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as an adjective and a verb.
What is another word for desert?
Words with a similar meaning to desert include desolate, wild and lurch. See the full list of desert synonyms and antonyms.
What is the opposite of desert?
Words opposite in meaning to desert are amnesty, indemnity, pardon and parole.
What is the plural of desert?
The plural of desert is deserts.
What is the past tense of desert?
The past tense of desert is deserted. The present participle is deserting.