DESERT
Dictionary entry overview: What does desert mean?
• DESERT (noun)
The noun DESERT has 1 sense:
1. arid land with little or no vegetation
Familiarity information: DESERT used as a noun is very rare.
• DESERT (adjective)
The adjective DESERT has 1 sense:
1. located in a dismal or remote area; desolate
Familiarity information: DESERT used as an adjective is very rare.
• DESERT (verb)
The verb DESERT has 2 senses:
1. leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
2. desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army
Familiarity information: DESERT used as a verb is rare.
Dictionary entry details
• DESERT (noun)
Meaning:
Arid land with little or no vegetation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("desert" is a kind of...):
biome (a major biotic community characterized by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate)
parcel; parcel of land; piece of ground; piece of land; tract (an extended area of land)
Meronyms (parts of "desert"):
oasis (a fertile tract in a desert (where the water table approaches the surface))
Instance hyponyms:
Arabian Desert; Great Arabian Desert (a desert on the Arabian Peninsula in southwestern Asia)
Mohave; Mohave Desert; Mojave; Mojave Desert (a desert area in southern California and western Arizona)
Namib Desert (a desert in Namibia extending along the coast between the high plateau and the Atlantic Ocean)
An Nafud; An Nefud; Nafud; Nefud (a desert in northern Saudi Arabia that is noted for its red sand and violent winds)
Negev; Negev Desert (a desert in southern Israel)
Nubian Desert (an arid sandstone plateau in northeastern Sudan between the Nile and the Red Sea)
Painted Desert (a desert on a high plateau in northeastern Arizona)
Patagonian Desert (a semiarid region in southern South America)
Ar Rimsal; Dahna; Great Sandy Desert; Rub al-Khali (a desert in southern Saudi Arabia)
Sahara; Sahara Desert (the world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in northern Africa)
Simpson Desert (a desert region of central Australia)
Sinai; Sinai Desert (a desert on the Sinai Peninsula in northeastern Egypt)
Sonoran Desert (a desert in southwestern Arizona)
Syrian Desert (a desert of northern Arabia occupying western Iraq, southern Syria, eastern Jordan, and northern Saudi Arabia)
Taklamakan Desert; Taklimakan Desert (a desert in western China)
Great Indian Desert; Thar Desert (a desert east of the Indus River in northwestern India and southeastern Pakistan)
Libyan Desert (the northeastern part of the Sahara Desert in Libya and Egypt and Sudan)
Kizil Kum; Kyzyl Kum; Qizil Qum (a desert in Uzbekistan southeast of the Aral Sea)
Kara Kum; Qara Qum; Turkestan Desert (a desert in Turkmenistan south of the Aral Sea)
Arabian Desert; Eastern Desert (a desert in Egypt between the Nile River and the Red Sea)
Atacama Desert (a desert in northern Chile rich in nitrate and copper deposits)
Australian Desert; Great Australian Desert (general name given to all desert areas in Australia)
Black Rock Desert (a desert in northwestern Nevada)
Chihuahuan Desert (a desert in western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico)
Colorado Desert (an arid region of southeastern California)
Dasht-e-Kavir; Great Salt Desert; Kavir Desert (a salt desert in north central Iran)
Dasht-e-Lut; Lut Desert (a desert in eastern Iran)
Death Valley (a desert area that is part of the Mojave Desert in eastern California and southwestern Nevada; contains the lowest point in North America)
Kalahari; Kalahari Desert (a desert in southwestern Africa - largely Botswana)
Great Victoria Desert (a desert region in south central Australia north of the Nullarbor Plain)
Great Sandy Desert (a desert region in northwestern Australia north of the Gibson Desert)
Gobi; Gobi Desert (a desert in central China)
Gila Desert (a desert area in southern Arizona)
Gibson Desert (a desert area in western Australia)
• DESERT (adjective)
Meaning:
Located in a dismal or remote area; desolate
Synonyms:
desert; godforsaken; waste; wild
Context examples:
a desert island / a godforsaken wilderness crossroads / a wild stretch of land / waste places
Similar:
inhospitable (unfavorable to life or growth)
• DESERT (verb)
Meaning:
Leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Synonyms:
desert; desolate; forsake; abandon
Context example:
The mother deserted her children
Hypernyms (to "desert" is one way to...):
leave (go and leave behind, either intentionally or by neglect or forgetfulness)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "desert"):
expose (abandon by leaving out in the open air)
walk out (leave suddenly, often as an expression of disapproval)
ditch (forsake)
maroon; strand (leave stranded or isolated with little hope of rescue)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sentence example:
Sam cannot desert Sue
Meaning:
Desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
defect; desert
Context example:
If soldiers deserted Hitler's army, they were shot
Hypernyms (to "desert" is one way to...):
flee; fly; take flight (run away quickly)
"Desert" entails doing...:
dissent; protest; resist (express opposition through action or words)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "desert"):
rat (desert one's party or group of friends, for example, for one's personal advantage)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
