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desert
1[ dez-ert ]
noun
- 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.
- any area in which few forms of life can exist because of lack of water, permanent frost, or absence of soil.
Synonyms: wasteland
- an area of the ocean in which it is believed no marine life exists.
- (formerly) any unsettled area between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains thought to be unsuitable for human habitation.
- any place lacking in something:
The town was a cultural desert.
Synonyms: wasteland
desert
2[ dih-zurt ]
verb (used with object)
- to leave (a person, place, etc.) without intending to return, especially in violation of a duty, promise, or the like:
He deserted his wife.
- (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.
- to fail (someone) at a time of need:
None of his friends had deserted him.
verb (used without object)
desert
3[ dih-zurt ]
noun
- Usually deserts. reward or punishment that is deserved:
Death was his desert.
Synonyms: justice, reward, recompense, payment, due, penalty, retribution, retaliation
- the state or fact of deserving reward or punishment.
- the state or condition of being worthy, as in character or behavior.
desert
1/ dɪˈzɜːt /
noun
- often plural something that is deserved or merited; just reward or punishment
- the state of deserving a reward or punishment
- virtue or merit
desert
2/ dɪˈzɜːt /
verb
- tr to leave or abandon (a person, place, etc) without intending to return, esp in violation of a duty, promise, or obligation
- military to abscond from (a post or duty) with no intention of returning
- tr to fail (someone) in time of need
his good humour temporarily deserted him
- tr Scots law to give up or postpone (a case or charge)
desert
3/ ˈdɛzət /
noun
- a region that is devoid or almost devoid of vegetation, esp because of low rainfall
- an uncultivated uninhabited region
- a place which lacks some desirable feature or quality
a cultural desert
- modifier of, relating to, or like a desert; infertile or desolate
desert
/ dĕz′ərt /
- 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
- desert·like adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of desert1
Origin of desert2
Word History and Origins
Origin of desert1
Origin of desert2
Origin of desert3
A Closer Look
Idioms and Phrases
- 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
Example Sentences
On passer ait volontiers par les dangers du désert pour y parvenir.
Après le dîner, nous avions été à Bullier, presque désert ce soir-là et nous avions fini la nuit à Montmartre.
Of the miracles, that of St. Guillaume du Désert will serve as a fair example.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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