desert

¹

[ dez-ert ]

noun

1. a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all:

   The Sahara is a vast sandy desert.

   Synonyms: wasteland, waste

2. any area in which few forms of life can exist because of lack of water, permanent frost, or absence of soil.

   Synonyms: wasteland

3. an area of the ocean in which it is believed no marine life exists.
4. (formerly) any unsettled area between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains thought to be unsuitable for human habitation.
5. any place lacking in something:

   The town was a cultural desert.

   Synonyms: wasteland

adjective

1. of, relating to, or like a desert:

   a desert landscape.

   Synonyms: arid, infertile, barren, desolate

2. occurring, living, or flourishing in the desert:

   a desert tribe; a desert palm.

3. designed or suitable for wear in the desert, as cool, protective clothing:

   a big, wide-brimmed desert hat.

desert

²

[ dih-zurt ]

verb (used with object)

1. to leave (a person, place, etc.) without intending to return, especially in violation of a duty, promise, or the like:

   He deserted his wife.

   Synonyms: forsake, quit, leave, abandon

2. (of military personnel) to leave or run away from (service, duty, etc.) with the intention of never returning:

   Terrified of the approaching battle, he deserted his post just before dawn.

3. to fail (someone) at a time of need:

   None of his friends had deserted him.

verb (used without object)

1. to forsake or leave one's duty, obligations, etc. (sometimes followed by from, to, etc.):

   Many deserted during the food shortage.

   Synonyms: resign, abdicate

2. (of military personnel) to leave service, duty, etc., with no intention of returning:

   Troops were deserting to the enemy.

   Synonyms: go AWOL

desert

³

[ dih-zurt ]

noun

1. Usually deserts. reward or punishment that is deserved:

   Death was his desert.

   Synonyms: justice, reward, recompense, payment, due, penalty, retribution, retaliation

2. the state or fact of deserving reward or punishment.
3. the state or condition of being worthy, as in character or behavior.

   Synonyms: worth, virtue, merit

desert

¹

/ dɪˈzɜːt /

noun

1. often plural something that is deserved or merited; just reward or punishment
2. the state of deserving a reward or punishment
3. virtue or merit

desert

²

/ dɪˈzɜːt /

verb

1. tr to leave or abandon (a person, place, etc) without intending to return, esp in violation of a duty, promise, or obligation
2. military to abscond from (a post or duty) with no intention of returning
3. tr to fail (someone) in time of need

   his good humour temporarily deserted him

4. tr Scots law to give up or postpone (a case or charge)

desert

³

/ ˈdɛzət /

noun

1. a region that is devoid or almost devoid of vegetation, esp because of low rainfall
2. an uncultivated uninhabited region
3. a place which lacks some desirable feature or quality

   a cultural desert

4. modifier of, relating to, or like a desert; infertile or desolate

desert

/ dĕz′ərt /

1. A large, dry, barren region, usually having sandy or rocky soil and little or no vegetation. Water lost to evaporation and transpiration in a desert exceeds the amount of precipitation; most deserts average less than 25 cm (9.75 inches) of precipitation each year, concentrated in short local bursts. Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's surface, with the principal warm deserts located mainly along the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, where warm, rising equatorial air masses that have already lost most of their moisture descend over the subtropical regions. Cool deserts are located at higher elevations in the temperate regions, often on the lee side of a barrier mountain range where the prevailing winds drop their moisture before crossing the range.

Derived Forms

• deˈserter, noun
• deˈserted, adjective

Other Words From

• de·ser·tic [dih-, zur, -tik], adjective
• desert·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of desert¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English adjective desert, deserd, diserte “barren, unproductive, dried up (lake), deserted (city),” from Anglo-French, Old French des(s)ert “uncultivated; without inhabitants,” from Late Latin dēsertum (neuter), noun use of past participle of Latin dēserere “to abandon, forsake,” equivalent to dē- prefix meaning “from, away from, out of ” + serere “to join together (in a line)”; de-, series

Origin of desert²

First recorded in 1470–80; from Middle French déserter, from Medieval Latin dēsertāre “to desert; lay waste,” frequentative of Latin dēserere “to part company, leave, forsake,” literally “to undo the links,” equivalent to dē- prefix meaning “from, away from” + serere “to link together, entwine, interlace”; desert ¹

Origin of desert³

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English noun desert, deseert, decert(e), from Old French deserte, noun use of feminine past participle of deservir “to serve devotedly”; deserve

Word History and Origins

Origin of desert¹

C13: from Old French deserte, from deservir to deserve

Origin of desert²

C15: from French déserter, from Late Latin dēsertāre, from Latin dēserere to forsake; see desert ¹

Origin of desert³

C13: from Old French, from Church Latin dēsertum, from Latin dēserere to abandon, literally: to sever one's links with, from de- + serere to bind together

A Closer Look

A desert is defined not by temperature but by the sparse amount of water found in a region. An area with an annual rainfall of fewer than 25 centimeters (9.75 inches) generally qualifies as a desert. In spite of the dryness, however, some animals and plants have adapted to desert life and thrive in these harsh environments. While different animals live in different types of deserts, the dominant animals of warm deserts are reptiles, including snakes and lizards, small mammals, such as ground squirrels and mice, and arthropods, such as scorpions and beetles. These animals are usually nocturnal, spending the day resting in the shade of plants or burrowed in the ground, and emerging in the evenings to hunt or eat. Warm-desert plants are mainly ground-hugging shrubs, small wooded trees, and cacti. Plant and animal life is scarcer in the cool desert, where the precipitation falls mainly as snow. Plants are generally scattered mosses and grasses that are able to survive the cold by remaining low to the ground, avoiding the wind, and animal life can include both large and small mammals, such as deer and jackrabbits, as well as a variety of raptors and other birds.

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. get / receive / etc. one's (just) deserts, to be punished or rewarded in a manner appropriate to one's actions or behavior:

   Some people felt he had gotten his just deserts, having been imprisoned and relieved of his ill-gotten gains, but others would have preferred old-style public flogging, followed by drawing and quartering, and who can blame them?

More idioms and phrases containing desert

In addition to the idiom beginning with desert , also see just deserts .

Synonym Study

Desert, waste, wilderness refer to areas that are largely uninhabited. Desert emphasizes lack of water (though not specifically high temperature); it refers to a dry, barren, treeless region, usually sandy: a high-altitude frozen desert. Waste emphasizes lack of inhabitants and of cultivation; it is used of wild, barren land: a desolate waste. Wilderness emphasizes the difficulty of finding one's way, whether because of barrenness or of dense vegetation: a trackless wilderness.

Desert, abandon, forsake mean to leave behind persons, places, or things. Desert implies intentionally violating an oath, formal obligation, or duty: to desert campaign pledges. Abandon suggests giving up wholly and finally, whether of necessity, unwillingly, or through shirking responsibilities: to abandon a hopeless task; abandon a child. Forsake has emotional connotations, since it implies violating obligations of affection or association: to forsake a noble cause.

Desert, merit, worth refer to the quality in a person, action, or thing that entitles recognition, especially favorable recognition. Desert is the quality that entitles one to a just reward: according to her deserts. Merit is usually the excellence that entitles to praise: a person of great merit. Worth is always used in a favorable sense and signifies inherent value or goodness: The worth of your contribution is incalculable.

Example Sentences

Matthews calls the Yakima Valley site in Washington state “desert in the shadow of Mount Rainier.”

From Science News

By late March, when ski season would normally be in full swing, hotels were empty, streets deserted.

From Ozy

It was hard to miss the dramatic, toothy peaks that spike up in the middle of the Nevada desert just south of that route.

From Outside Online

State government officials have not lifted the mandate that would allow them to open indoors, so they decided to take their operation outside — into the desert.

From Ozy

Earth is thought to have been born in an interplanetary desert, too close to the sun for water ice to survive.

From Science News

Normality, domesticity, ease, in the blazing Arizona desert.

From The Daily Beast

Desert Golfing is the distillation of Angry Birds into its purest essence.

From The Daily Beast

Desert Golfing is the gaming equivalent of putting TV on in the background.

From The Daily Beast

If life gets in the way, Desert Golfing totally understands.

From The Daily Beast

But an ad-supported version of Desert Golfing was impossible.

From The Daily Beast

After we had passed over this desert, we found several garisons to defend the caravans from the violence of the Tartars.

From Project Gutenberg

The leaves were motionless, the river crept past without a murmur, the dark hills rose out of the distant desert like a wave.

From Project Gutenberg

The author of the life of St. Francis Xavier, asserts, that "by one sermon he converted ten thousand persons in a desert island."

From Project Gutenberg

Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high: and the desert shall be as a charmel, and charmel shall be counted for a forest.

From Project Gutenberg

The dining room was for the souls of the locals, who could admire the desert more conveniently than find a good meal.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• betray
• bolt
• depart
• escape
• flee
• forsake
• give up
• quit
• vacate