Meaning & use
desert
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Meanings
nouncountable
A large area of land with very little rain, where few plants and animals can live.
Grammar: Countable, stress on the first syllable: the Sahara Desert.
Patterns
- in the desert
- a desert of something
Camels carried the travelers across the desert.
Temperatures in the desert drop sharply at night.
The Atacama is one of the driest deserts on Earth.
verbtransitive
To leave a person, place, or duty and not come back, especially when others rely on you.
Grammar: Takes an object; stress is on the second syllable: /dɪˈzɜːt/.
Patterns
- desert someone
- desert something
Soldiers who deserted their posts faced punishment.
His friends deserted him when he lost his job.
The streets were deserted after midnight.
verbintransitivemilitary
To leave the armed forces without permission.
Grammar: No object: he deserted during the war.
Patterns
- desert from the army
Several recruits deserted during training.
He deserted and was never found.
Word forms
| plural | deserts |
|---|---|
| third person singular | deserts |
| past tense | deserted |
| past participle | deserted |
| -ing form | deserting |
Common combinations
- desert island
- They were stranded on a desert island.
- cross the desert
- The caravan took weeks to cross the desert.
- desert sun
- The desert sun was relentless.
- desert someone in need
- Never desert a friend in need.
- deserted street
- A deserted street ran past the station.
Synonyms and how they differ
- abandon
- Is broader and can mean give up an object or plan, not just people.
- wasteland
- Is barren land of any kind, not necessarily dry.
- forsake
- Is more literary and stresses breaking loyalty.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: desert or dessert?
desert vs dessert
Dessert is the sweet course at the end of a meal; stress is on the second syllable and it has two s's.
Practice
Which word fits? 'He felt sad when his team ___ him.'
Choose one answer.
Deserted, the past tense of the verb desert, means abandoned. Desserted is not a word, and deserved changes the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “desert”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.