noun
desert
DEZ-ert/ˈdezərt/
A dry region with little rainfall or vegetation.
Sparse shrubs grow among the desert's sand and stones.
Etymology
“Undo” and “join together” give the image of severing a connection, hence abandoning. The noun meant an abandoned place or wilderness; the more specific sense of a waterless, barren region gradually became its main meaning.
In context
To the south lies [music] the Gobi Desert, stretching vast and dry like an ocean of sand and stone.
More examples
- They crossed the desert before the hottest part of the day.
- Several deserts receive very little rain.
- The town stands at the edge of the desert.
Forms
desert · deserts
Similar words
- wilderness
- Wild land that need not be dry.
- wasteland
- Barren or neglected land that need not have a desert climate.