desert1 noundesert2 verb
desertdes‧ert1 /ˈdezət $ -ərt/ ●●○ W3 noun 
WORD ORIGINdesert1
Origin:
1100-1200 Old French, Late Latin desertum, from Latin desertus, past participle of deserere ‘to desert’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a US Army deserter
- He was pointing off toward the desert.
- It was used in the Persian Gulf war to target smart bombs and guide tanks across the desert.
- So if you go for a walk in the desert in a few years time and a plane flies overhead, hide.
- The restaurant space also gives the sense of a genuine, if somewhat too comfortable, desert experience.
- The story happened in a sandy desert.
- These Sundays were the oases of human contact in the desert of my loneliness.
- Thirst is banished, and the desert becomes their home.
THESAURUS
a substance that forms beaches and deserts, or an area of this substance: · sunbathers lying on the sand· He could see several small figures out on the sands.
an area of sand or small stones at the edge of the sea or a lake: · the island's golden beaches· How about a day at the beach?· a pebble beach
a large area of land where it is always very hot and dry, and there is a lot of sand: · the Sahara desert· They crossed the desert by camel.
a hill made of sand near the sea or in the desert: · We went for a long walk along the dunes.· The dunes are home to a wide variety of birds and plants.
WORD SETSabyss, nounalluvial, adjectivealluvium, nounalpine, adjectiveAmerican, adjectiveAntarctica, anticyclone, nounarchipelago, nounArctic, adjectivearid, adjectiveAsia, atlas, nounatoll, nounAustralasia, Australasian, adjectiveAustralia, avalanche, nounaxis, nounbank, nounbarometer, nounbarrier reef, nounbasin, nounbay, nounbayou, nounbeach, nounbearing, nounbed, nounbight, nounbluff, nounborder, nounborder, verbborderland, nounborderline, nounborough, nounbox canyon, nounBritish, adjectivebutte, nouncanyon, nouncape, nouncapital, nouncardinal point, nounCaribbean, adjectivecartography, nouncay, nounchain, nounchaparral, nounchart, nounchasm, nounchimney, nounChinese, adjectivecirrus, nounCIS, nouncliff, nounclimate, nounclimatic, adjectivecoastal, adjectivecoastline, nouncockney, nouncol, nouncold front, nouncommuter belt, nouncompass, nounconfluence, nouncontinent, nouncontinental, adjectivecontinental shelf, nouncontour, nounconurbation, nouncoordinate, nouncorridor, nouncorrie, nouncoterminous, adjectivecouncil estate, nouncountry, nouncounty, nouncounty town, nouncourse, nouncove, nouncrag, nouncraggy, adjectivecreek, nouncrevasse, nouncrevice, nouncumulus, nouncyclone, noundateline, noundelta, noundesert, noundesert island, noundevelopment, noundistrict, noundivide, noundown, adverbdune, noundust bowl, nouneast, nouneast, adjectiveeast, adverbeastbound, adjectiveeasterly, adjectiveeasterly, nouneastern, adjectiveEasterner, nouneasternmost, adjectiveeastwards, adverbelevation, nouneminence, nounenvirons, nounequatorial, adjectiveerode, verberosion, nounescarpment, nounestuary, nounEurope, nounextraterritorial, adjectiveeyot, nounface, nounfarmland, nounfeeder, nounfiord, nounfirth, nounfjord, nounflood plain, nounfluvial, adjectivefrontier, nounfrontiersman, noungale force, adjectivegap, noungeo-, prefixgeography, noungeophysics, noungeopolitics, noungeyser, nounglacial, adjectiveglaciation, nounglacier, nounglobe, noungoldfield, noungorge, noungrassland, nounGrecian, adjectivegreen belt, noungrid, noungrotto, noungroundwater, noungulch, noungulf, noungully, nounhead, nounheadland, nounheadwaters, nounheartland, nounhemisphere, nounhighland, adjectivehighlands, nounhigh water mark, nounhinterland, nounHome Counties, the, homeland, nounhurricane, noun-i, suffixIberian, adjectiveiceberg, nounice cap, nounice floe, nounice pack, nounice sheet, nouninhabitant, nouninland, adjectiveinland, adverbinlet, nouninner city, nouninshore, adverbinsular, adjectiveintercontinental, adjectiveInternational Date Line, nounisland, nounisle, nounislet, nounisobar, nounIsraeli, adjectiveIsraeli, nounisthmus, nounItalian, adjectiveItalianate, adjectiveItalo-, prefixJapanese, adjectivekey, nounknoll, nounlagoon, nounlake, nounlandlocked, adjectivelandmass, nounlandslide, nounlandslip, nounlat., Latin, adjectiveLatin America, nounLatin American, adjectivelatitude, nounlevee, nounlittoral, nounlong., longitude, nounlongitudinal, adjectivelough, nounlowlands, nounlow-lying, adjectivelow water mark, nounmagnetic north, nounmagnetic pole, nounmarsh, nounmarshland, nounmeander, verbMediterranean, adjectiveMercator projection, nounmeridian, nounmesa, nounMiddle America, nounmidtown, adjectivemonsoon, nounmoorland, nounmorass, nounmountain, nounmountainside, nounmountaintop, nounmouth, nounmudslide, nounmull, nounnarrows, nounnavigation, nounNE, neck, nounnor'-, prefixnorth, nounnorth, adjectivenorth, adverbNorth America, nounnortheast, nounnortheast, adjectivenortheasterly, adjectivenortheastern, adjectivenortheastwards, adverbnortherly, adjectivenorthern, adjectivenortherner, nounnorthernmost, adjectivenorthwards, adverbnorthwest, nounnorthwest, adjectivenorthwesterly, adjectivenorthwestern, adjectivenorthwestwards, adverbnotch, nounNW, NZ, oasis, nounoccidental, nounocean, nounonshore, adjectiveopenness, nounOrdnance Survey map, nounoriental, adjectiveoutcrop, nounoverspill, nounpack ice, nounpaddy, nounpalisade, nounpan-, prefixpanhandle, nounparallel, nounpeak, nounpeninsula, nounPersian, adjectivephysical geography, nounplain, nounplateau, nounpoint, nounpolar, adjectivepole, nounpolitical geography, nounpollutant, nounpop., populate, verbpopulation, nounprairie, nounprecipice, nounprecipitation, nounPrime Meridian, principality, nounprojection, nounpromontory, nounprovince, nounprovincial, adjectivepueblo, nounR, rainfall, nounrain forest, nounrain gauge, nounrainstorm, nounrange, nounravine, nounreef, nounreference, nounregion, nounregional, adjectiverelief map, nounreservoir, nounresettle, verbresidential, adjectiveresource, nounridge, nounrift valley, nounrise, verbriver, nounriver basin, nounriver bed, nounRoman, adjectiverotation, nounrugged, adjectiverun-off, nounrural, adjectivesand, nounsand bar, nounsandstorm, nounsandy, adjectivesavanna, nounScandinavian, nounscar, nounscarp, nounscree, nounscrubland, nounSE, seaboard, nounsea breeze, nounseafront, nounsea level, nounseaport, nounseaward, adjectivesection, nounsemitropical, adjectiveshelf, nounslough, nounsmog, nounsnowfield, nounsource, nounsouth, nounsouth, adjectivesouth, adverbSouth America, adjectivesoutheast, nounsoutheast, adjectivesoutheasterly, adjectivesoutheastern, adjectivesoutheastwards, adverbsoutherly, adjectivesouthern, adjectivesouthernmost, adjectivesouthwards, adverbsouthwest, nounsouthwest, adjectivesouthwesterly, adjectivesouthwestern, adjectivesouthwestwards, adverbspeleology, nounspit, nounspur, nounstrait, nounsubcontinent, nounsubtropical, adjectivesuburb, nounsuburban, adjectivesummit, nounsurvey, nounsurvey, verbSW, swamp, nountableland, nounterrain, nounterritory, nountidal, adjectivetidal wave, nountidewater, nountime zone, nountop, nountopography, nountor, nountornado, nountown, nountown centre, nountowpath, nountrack, nountract, nountrade route, nountrail, nountransatlantic, adjectivetranscontinental, adjectivetributary, nountropic, nountropical, adjectivetundra, nountyphoon, nounUK, the, uncharted, adjectiveup, adverbup-country, adjectiveuplands, nounupper, adjectiveupriver, adverbupstate, adjectiveupstream, adverbuptown, adverburban, adjectiveurbanized, adjectiveurban renewal, nounurban sprawl, nounUS, the, adjectivevalley, nounW, warm front, nounwaste, adjectivewasteland, nounwater, verbwatercourse, nounwaterfall, nounwaterfront, nounwaterhole, nounwatering place, nounwater meadow, nounwatershed, nounwater table, nounwaterway, nounweather vane, nounwest, nounwest, adjectiveWest, nounwestern, adjectiveWesterner, nounwesternmost, adjectivewestward, adverbwilderness, nounwolds, nounzoning, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadjectives
I hope that he’s caught and gets his just deserts (=is punished in the way he deserves). Wild sheep roam the hills.
1 (=extremely big)· the vast Gobi desert in China
(=with no buildings or people in it)· Outside the city there was nothing but empty desert.
(=with very little rain)· Very little can grow in this arid desert.
(=not easy to live or stay in)· The interior of the country is an inhospitable desert.
(=where no plants can grow)· Years of intensive farming have turned the area into a barren desert.
desert + NOUN· A hot dry wind blows from the desert areas of North Africa.
· the flat desert landscape outside Kuwait
· Large parts of Oman are desert country.
· Animals shelter from the desert sun during the day.
phrases (=a very large area of desert)· In front of us was nothing but a vast expanse of desert.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES· The hot, dry wind blows in from the desert areas of North Africa.
(=with no one on it)· We took a boat to a deserted beach.
· Not much grows in this desert country.
· The storm caused significant damage to the coastal environment.
(=a tropical island that is far away and where nobody lives)· He was shipwrecked on a desert island.
I hope that he’s caught and gets his just deserts (=is punished in the way he deserves). Wild sheep roam the hills. (=with no people)· As he walked home, the street was deserted.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· Mysterious white beams stream down into the cold desert from saucer-shaped craft.· Today Mars is a dry, cold, windy desert.· Mechanical weathering is rapid in cold desert regions.
· Plants cope with hot dry desert in many different ways.· In dry polar deserts ahumic soils tend to remain ahumic indefinitely.
· Then a buttery glow leaking from horizon to horizon, flooding the mesas and outcrop rock of the high desert.· Los Alamos was located in the high desert miles from Santa Fe and was surrounded by a barbed-wire fence.· A Santa Fe resident for 10 years, Neikrug is happily ensconced in the high desert haven.
· Laying and distributing the eggs in small batches is a special adaptation to these hot desert conditions.· Then the hot desert wind died to a whisper and the reprieved showed their relief.· Plants cope with hot dry desert in many different ways.· And, soon, like water sprinkled on hot desert ground, my savings would vanish.
· Now the rich and the proud would get their just deserts.· Even a low-cal concoction can make us feel that we're getting our just deserts.
· I had hoped for thirty on the paved road to bump up the average before the open desert at Adrar.· Alone on the open desert, I have made up songs of wild, poignant rejoicing and transcendent melancholy.· In open desert, I was on my own.· This was open desert, and there was not a dune in sight and it was firm underfoot.· The first problem occurred when they left the road and moved off into the open desert.
· These are summarized in Tables 3.3 and 3.4. 3.3.1 Northern plant communities Polar desert and tundra.· Many tundra species occur in polar desert and forest as well, but only in tundra do they dominate their communities.· It takes one to the high, isolated polar desert at the height of the summer season.· Similarly the term polar desert covers both the area and the vegetation characteristic of it.· In dry polar deserts ahumic soils tend to remain ahumic indefinitely.
· The expedition took place in the middle of a vast desert wilderness marked blank on the maps.· In this vast Adrar desert, which borders Western Sahara, an inexorable drought governs nature and man.
NOUN· Thus firewood is the most important source of energy in desert areas, where vegetation is sparse.· The biggest boom is in the scenic desert areas, which are laced with washes.· Unlike the United States, Britain had no large sparsely-populated desert areas in which to deploy strategic missiles.· In the meantime the Devonian temperature increased and desert areas expanded.· Landsat and Meteosat satellites regularly relay aerial, pictures of locust-infested desert areas.
· Walker died instantly; his F-104 bursting into flames, the pieces falling away to the desert floor 25,000 feet below.· Look at him down here on the desert floor running free as the breeze.· He watched the altimeter unwind and felt his straps grip as the desert floor swung up to face him.· So until it rains, the spadefoot sits immobile in its burrow, an unsuspected living presence beneath the parched desert floor.· He was still counting off the height in hundreds as the Kittyhawk smashed through what would have been the desert floor.
· Carwyn seemed like a castaway on a desert island.· One person can live on a desert island without leader-ship.· But for the moment, it seems he isn't the luxury most women want to take on a desert island with them.· The witch Sycorax, who died shortly before Prospero arrived, had enchanted the desert island.· If you were abandoned on a desert island, you would have total personal sovereignty to do exactly what you want.· His bookishness became useful when he began to study magic on the desert island.· But he was no more comfortable on the radio programme than he would have been on the real desert island.· The plan was to fly to the Cook islands, and spend at least three months alone on a desert island.
· The vast tracts of sterile desert land were broken only by irregular patches of short, dry grasses or rough scrubland.· In a desert land, water decides life.· He urged wealthy nations to plant tropical hardwoods in desert lands, thereby tripling the area under tropical timber within a century.
· See thousands of flowering desert plants.· All the adaptations of the specialist desert plants and animals follow from these requirements.
· He wondered how this man survived the desert sun.· Today, the Playa is a table-top of sand that cracks beneath the desert sun and floods after monsoon rains.· We used to be in the same practice, Peter and I. Now he's doing his stuff under the desert sun.· Both seem to glow under the desert sun.· At one end green plastic sheeting and hessian cloth provided shade from the desert sun.
VERB· Animals and plants living in the desert therefore face severe problems.· One person can live on a desert island without leader-ship.· Some know how to live in such deserts, and meet their terrible demands.· Recollect the feature films of the living desert, the vanishing prairie, the rams butting heads and salmon swimming upstream?· They know because they have always lived in deserts, and their parents and grandparents before them.· Anything less promising as a design for living in the desert is hard to imagine.· I thought he lived in the desert.
· Curtis was a very large man whose tiny facial features seemed lost in a desert of moist, granular skin.· A man is lost in the desert without food.· If we had lost hope, the desert dawn would restore our faith.
· One sensed the aloneness, and would she be roaming the desert if there were a husband to worry about?· Pride is one thing: a wild beast which lives in caves and roams the desert.
· She lost her and in her terrible grief she withheld her gifts from the earth, which turned into a frozen desert.
· For six years you wander the desert from level to pale level.
[countable, uncountable] a large area of land where it is always very dry, there are few plants, and there is a lot of sand or rocks: the Sahara Desert This area of the country is mostly desert.in the desert The plane crash-landed in the desert.2[countable] a place where there is no activity or where nothing interesting happens: The railroad yard was a desert now. ► Do not confuse with dessert (=the sweet part of a meal).COLLOCATIONSadjectivesvast (=extremely big)· the vast Gobi desert in Chinaempty (=with no buildings or people in it)· Outside the city there was nothing but empty desert.arid (=with very little rain)· Very little can grow in this arid desert.an inhospitable desert (=not easy to live or stay in)· The interior of the country is an inhospitable desert.a barren desert (=where no plants can grow)· Years of intensive farming have turned the area into a barren desert.desert + NOUNa desert area/region· A hot dry wind blows from the desert areas of North Africa.a desert landscape· the flat desert landscape outside Kuwaitdesert country/land· Large parts of Oman are desert country.the desert sun/heat· Animals shelter from the desert sun during the day.phrasesa stretch/expanse of desert (=a very large area of desert)· In front of us was nothing but a vast expanse of desert.desert1 noundesert2 verb
desertde‧sert2 /dɪˈzɜːt $ -ˈzɜːrt/ ●○○ verb WORD ORIGINdesert2
Origin:
1300-1400 French déserter, from Latin desertus; ➔ DESERT1VERB TABLE
desert
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | desert |
| he, she, it | deserts | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | deserted |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have deserted |
| he, she, it | has deserted | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had deserted |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will desert |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have deserted |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am deserting |
| he, she, it | is deserting | |
| you, we, they | are deserting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was deserting |
| you, we, they | were deserting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been deserting |
| he, she, it | has been deserting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been deserting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be deserting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been deserting |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Goldilocks finds a house in the woods that seems to have been deserted by its owners.
- He obtained the grenades from a friend who had deserted from the army.
- His father had deserted the family when Graham was three years old.
- Mrs Hasan was deserted by her husband and had to support four children on her own.
- Paul feels that his father deserted him after the divorce.
- The three men had tried to desert, but were brought back to camp and shot.
- U.S. officials say 1000 enemy soldiers have deserted.
- Hibs' contribution was substantial until their stamina deserted them.
- His own men deserted him, poisoned his food, and eventually shot him in the head.
- I deserted the play, as did the other actors on stage, and leapt into the audience.
- Several thousand soldiers desert every year, and military prosecutors, knowing the conditions, are reluctant to punish them.
- The present site was apparently first recorded about 1939 and Aldershaw was deserted in 1947.
Longman Language Activatorwhen someone leaves the army, air force, or navy
to leave the army, air force, or navy without permission: · The three men had tried to desert, but were brought back to camp and shot.desert from: · He obtained the grenades from a friend who had deserted from the army.
informal to leave your army unit without permission, often for a short period of time: · He went AWOL while on duty in Northern Ireland.
to allow or force someone to leave the army, air force, or navy: · When Danny was discharged in 1961, he went to Los Angeles, looking for work.discharge from: · He lost both his legs in an explosion and was discharged from the navy.
to leave your husband, wife, girlfriend etc · She promised faithfully that she would never leave him.leave somebody for somebody else · Simon has left me for his secretary, after fifteen years of marriage.
to suddenly leave your husband, wife, girlfriend etc in a way that they think is unfair: · I was three months pregnant when Peter walked out.walk out on: · She remembered the day her father had walked out on them and how her mother had just sat on the stairs and cried.
to suddenly leave your husband or wife in order to live with someone else and have a sexual relationship with them: · His wife ran off with one of the doctors at the hospital.
to leave your family, husband, children etc to avoid the responsibility of looking after them: · Mrs Hasan was deserted by her husband and had to support four children on her own.· His father had deserted the family when Graham was three years old.
to leave someone who depends on you for support, especially a child or animal: · The baby was found abandoned outside a local mosque.· My sister abandoned her husband and three children and went to live in Holland.· a home for abandoned kittens and puppies
WORD SETSadjutant, nounarmoured, adjectivebarracks, nounbasic training, nounbatman, nounbattalion, nounbearskin, nounbillet, nounbillet, verbbombardier, nounbooty, nounbrigade, nounbrigadier, nounbrigadier-general, nouncadet, nouncanteen, nouncantonment, nouncapture, verbcavalry, nouncavalryman, nouncenturion, nouncharger, nounchevron, nounCol., colonel, nouncommand, nouncommando, nouncommissary, nouncompany, nouncontingent, nouncorps, noundesert, verbdeserter, noundesertion, noundetachment, noundetail, noundisengage, verbdishonourable discharge, noundivision, noundivisional, adjectivedog tag, noundraft, verbdragoon, noundrill, noundrill, verbdugout, nounencampment, nounexpeditionary force, nounfield marshal, nounfiring squad, nounfive star general, nounflank, nounfoot locker, nounforay, nounfour-star general, nounfusilier, noungarrison, noungarrison, verbGen., general, noungeneralship, nounGI, noungrenadier, nounground forces, noungrunt, nounguardsman, noungunner, nounhussar, nouninduct, verbinductee, nouninfantry, nouninfantryman, nounirregular, nounlance corporal, nounlegion, nounlegionary, nounlegionnaire, nounLieut, loot, nounLt., man-at-arms, nounmatériel, nounMC, nounmedic, nounmercenary, nounmess hall, nounMIA, nounM.O., nounmobilize, verbmotorized, adjectivemounted, adjectivemusketeer, nounmuster, nounnon-commissioned officer, nounobstacle course, nounparade, verbparade ground, nounparatrooper, nounparatroops, nounpennon, nounpicket, nounpicket, verbpip, nounplatoon, nounpoint man, nounposition, nounprivate, nounprivate soldier, nounPte, redcoat, nounregiment, nounregular, nounreservist, nounreveille, nounroute march, nounsapper, nounsarge, nounsignalman, nounsoldier, nounsoldiering, nounsoldierly, adjectivesoldier of fortune, nounsoldiery, nounsortie, nounsortie, verbspecial forces, nounsquad, nounsquaddy, nounstaff sergeant, nounstandard-bearer, nounstormtrooper, nounsubaltern, nounTerritorial Army, the, trench, nountroop, nountrooper, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES I hope that he’s caught and gets his just deserts (=is punished in the way he deserves). Wild sheep roam the hills.
1[transitive] to leave someone or something and no longer help or support them SYN abandon: · The hot, dry wind blows in from the desert areas of North Africa.
(=with no one on it)· We took a boat to a deserted beach.
· Not much grows in this desert country.
· The storm caused significant damage to the coastal environment.
(=a tropical island that is far away and where nobody lives)· He was shipwrecked on a desert island.
I hope that he’s caught and gets his just deserts (=is punished in the way he deserves). Wild sheep roam the hills. (=with no people)· As he walked home, the street was deserted.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· It was almost deserted - looters were shot on sight and anyone who could flee had fled.· The hamlet was almost deserted, except for two old women and some small children.· As yet the streets were almost deserted, and so he couldn't resist driving by the tenement before making for the school.· The place was almost deserted at that hour.· The road, running for much of the time parallel to the river Wharfe, was almost deserted.· Out in the street, it was almost deserted.· The streets of Karachi are almost deserted.· Apart from clusters of soldiers, the streets were almost deserted.
NOUN· Their leader, Thorez, had deserted from the army and been stripped of his citizenship in 1939.
· Could a man who deserted his wife and child for another woman get off free without scars?
· On January 24, 1952, the wife deserted the husband.· The wife had then deserted the husband and was temporarily wrongfully away from home; but she might at any time return.
· They will be replaced by lesser black-backed gulls, the only Shetland breeding gull which entirely deserts the islands in winter.· Some voyages offer whale-watching or visits to deserted Maine islands.· A lord of the court provisioned the boat, and so they survived until they landed on a deserted island.
· When the dustmen come by and the first market stalls are being erected in the early morning the place is still deserted.
· Many young soldiers desert or go Awol after mistreatment and bullying by their superiors or colleagues.· In some cases, the soldiers panicked and deserted even at rumors that rebels were coming.· Several thousand soldiers desert every year, and military prosecutors, knowing the conditions, are reluctant to punish them.· A pardon need not imply that a soldier did not desert, or show cowardice, or disobey orders.
· As yet the streets were almost deserted, and so he couldn't resist driving by the tenement before making for the school.· The streets were deserted, empty in the sunshine.· The street was rainswept and deserted.· The street was all but deserted.· The streets and bars were deserted, and for once the incessant noise and bustle had abated.· Most buildings are tumbledown and all but the main streets are eerily deserted.· Apart from clusters of soldiers, the streets were almost deserted.· The street itself was deserted, the narrow plots of grass between the buildings an indescribable confusion of shadowy thorns and weeds.
· Could a man who deserted his wife and child for another woman get off free without scars?· Husbands, after all, deserted their wives every day, and most of them did not want to be found.
VERB· It was aggravating in the extreme to discover him there, just when she had hoped to find the launch deserted.· He threw every ounce of his energy into the run, reaching the bright street to find it deserted by traffic.
· The house seemed silent and deserted.· Canal Street, empty, or not yet filled, seemed to have been deserted.· She could see part of Dewer Street through the half-open gate and it seemed to be deserted.· The house seemed deserted, except for the two maids who were tidying up the living room in silence as we passed.· At first glance, the place seemed deserted.
· Once the ground has lost its protective cover of vegetation it quickly turns to desert.· The aftermath death, flood, famine Cleared tropical forest soon turns to desert.· In west Texas the drought has brought fears that the land will turn to desert.
Helen was deserted by her husband. Many of the party’s traditional voters deserted it at the last election. The price rise caused many readers to desert the magazine.desert somebody for somebody He deserted her for another woman.2[transitive] to leave a place so that it is completely empty SYN abandon: The birds have deserted their nest.3[intransitive] to leave the army, navy etc without permission: Several hundred soldiers have deserted.4[transitive] if a feeling, quality, or skill deserts you, you no longer have it, especially at a time when you need it: Mike’s confidence seemed to have deserted him.