desert - Definition | Dictionary definition of desert

Definition of desert

Verbs

leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch

"The mother deserted her children"

Synonyms:: abandon, desolate, forsake

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; 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

Type of:: leave
go and leave behind, either intentionally or by neglect or forgetfulness

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"

Synonyms:: defect

Types:: rat
desert one's party or group of friends, for example, for one's personal advantage

Type of:: flee, fly, take flight
run away quickly

leave behind

"the students deserted the campus after the end of exam period"

Type of:: go away, go forth, leave
go away from a place

Nouns

arid land with little or no vegetation

Examples:: show 34 examples...; hide 34 examples...; Great Arabian Desert
a desert on the Arabian Peninsula in southwestern Asia; Arabian 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; 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; Great Salt Desert
a salt desert in north central Iran; Dasht-e-Lut
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; Gibson Desert
a desert area in western Australia; Gila Desert
a desert area in southern Arizona; Gobi Desert
a desert in central China; Great Sandy Desert
a desert region in northwestern Australia to the north of the Gibson Desert; Great Victoria Desert
a desert region in south central Australia to the north of the Nullarbor Plain; Kalahari Desert
a desert in southwestern Africa - largely Botswana; Turkestan Desert
a desert in Turkmenistan to the south of the Aral Sea; Kizil Kum
a desert in Uzbekistan to the southeast of the Aral Sea; Libyan Desert
the northeastern part of the Sahara Desert in Libya and Egypt and Sudan; Mohave 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
a desert in northern Saudi Arabia that is noted for its red sand and violent winds; 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; Great Sandy Desert
a desert in southern Saudi Arabia; Sahara Desert
the world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in northern Africa; Simpson Desert
a desert region of central Australia; 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
a desert in western China; Great Indian Desert
a desert to the east of the Indus River in northwestern India and southeastern Pakistan

Type 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