Added 9 October 2026
desert
/ˈdɛz.ət/ noun
In Latin: dēsertum Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about desert at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Arid land with little or no vegetation.
- (usually plural) a person's deservingness of or entitlement to reward or punishment.
verb
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Leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch.
The mother deserted her children
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Desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army.
If soldiers deserted Hitler's army, they were shot
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Leave behind.
the students deserted the campus after the end of exam period
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)