desert Definition

desert¹
verb deserted, deserting

1. To leave or abandon (a place or person), intending not to return.

Thesaurus: forsake, abandon, repudiate, renounce, strand, maroon.
intr
2. To leave (especially a branch of the armed forces) without permission.
3. To take away support from (a person, cause, etc).

Derivative: deserted
adj

Said of a building, etc: empty or abandoned.

Derivative: deserter
noun

Someone who deserts from military service.

Derivative: desertion
noun

Etymology: 15c: from French déserter.

Info:

There is often a spelling confusion between desert and dessert.

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desert²
noun

1. An arid area of land where rainfall is less than potential evaporation, vegetation is scarce or non-existent, and which is characterized by extremely high or low temperatures. Also as adj.

Etymology: 13c: French, from Latin deserere to abandon.