desert

Noun (1)

desert (countable and uncountable, plural deserts)

1. A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland.
   • And ye poore Pilgrimes, that vvith reſtleſſe toyle
     VVearie your ſelues in vvandring deſert vvayes […]1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], Daphnaïda. An Elegy upon the Death of the Noble and Vertuous Douglas Howard,Daughter and Heire of Henry Lord Howard, Viscount Byndon, and Wife of Arthure Gorges Esquier....
   • Not thus the land appear'd in ages past,
     A dreary desert and a gloomy waste.1713, [Alexander] Pope, Windsor-Forest. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC
   1. In particular, a barren, arid area of land which is hot, with sandy, rocky, or parched ground.
      • It is wholly out of the power of language to convey any idea of the blissful enjoyment of obtaining water, after an almost total want of it, during eight and forty hours, in the scorching regions of an Arabian desert, in the month of July.1805 December, Julius Griffiths, “A Journey across the Desert”, in The Monthly Mirror, page 362
      • The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them.1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid
2. (figuratively) Any barren place or situation.
   • He declared that the country was an intellectual desert; that he was famishing for spiritual aliment, and for discourse on matters beyond mere nuggets, prospectings, and the price of gold.1858, William Howitt, Land, Labour, and Gold; Or, Two Years in Victoria, page 54
   • By contrast, the WR route is an economic desert between Newbury and Taunton.1964 March, “News and Comment: Which way to the West?”, in Modern Railways, page 147

Adjective

desert (not comparable)

1. Usually of a place: abandoned, deserted, or uninhabited.
   • They were marooned on a desert island in the Pacific.
   • And he said vnto them, Come yee your selues apart into a desert place, and rest a while. For there were many comming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eate.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark vi:31

   Synonyms:

   forsaken, peopleless, vacant, abandoned, derelict, deserted, desolate, discarded, dropped, forlorn

Verb

UK/dɪˈzɜːt/US/dɪˈzɝt/

desert (third-person singular simple present deserts, present participle deserting, simple past and past participle deserted)

1. To leave (anything that depends on one's presence to survive, exist, or succeed), especially when contrary to a promise or obligation; to abandon; to forsake.
   • You can't just drive off and desert me here, in the middle of nowhere.

   Synonyms:

   defect

2. To leave one's duty or post, especially to leave a military or naval unit without permission.
   • Anyone found deserting will be punished.

Noun (2)

UK/dɪˈzɜːt/US/dɪˈzɝt/

desert (plural deserts)

1. (in plural, often, now chiefly technical (in philosophy) or fossil) That which is deserved or merited; a just punishment or reward.
   • just deserts
   • From the highest spire of contentment / my fortune is thrown; / and fear and grief and pain for my deserts / are my hopes, since hope is gone.1600, John Dowland, Flow My Tears

   Synonyms:

   comeuppance