dessert

American  

[dih-zurt] / dɪˈzɜrt /

noun

1. cake, pie, fruit, pudding, ice cream, etc., served as the final course of a meal.

2. British. a serving of fresh fruit after the main course of a meal.

---

dessert British  

/ dɪˈzɜːt /

noun

1. the sweet, usually last course of a meal

2. (esp formerly) fruit, dates, nuts, etc, served at the end of a meal

---

Etymology

Origin of dessert

First recorded in 1780–90; from French, derivative of desservir “to remove what was served, clear the table,” from Old French, from des- dis- ¹ + servir “to serve” ( serve )

Explanation

Served as the last course of a meal, a dessert is often sweet, like cake or pie. If you have a sweet tooth, you may wish it were the only course of the meal. The word dessert originates from an interesting French word, desservir, which actually means "to clear the table." After the dinner dishes are removed, the host brings out the dessert. These days, desserts don't always have to be a sweet course, but can instead be a savory or a cheese course. Other offbeat treats include Vidalia onion ice cream and radish pie.

Example Sentences

Fewer people are eating dessert and drinking like they used to.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

When you assemble the dessert into bowls and start dappling each island with caramel and toasted sliced almonds, your friends will begin to hover.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

In true supper-club fashion, each dinner arrives as a sequence: a relish tray, soup, salad, potato and dessert.

From Salon • Mar. 10, 2026

Coup de Tête, a restaurant there, has prix fixe meals including a starter and a main course or a main course and a dessert that set you back a mere €19.50.

From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026

It was as if every candy or dessert he’d ever eaten had been in preparation for this one moment!

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

Related Words

• cake
• candy
• confection
• cookie
• fruit
• ice cream
• pastry
• pie
• sweet