desert¹ /di-zûrtˈ/

1. To leave
2. To forsake

1. To run away
2. To leave a service, eg the army, without permission

desertˈed adjective

Empty or abandoned

desertˈer noun

Someone who deserts from or quits any of the armed forces without permission

deserˈtion noun

1. An act of deserting
2. The state of being deserted
3. Wilful abandonment of a legal or moral obligation

desert the diet see under diet².

desert² /dezˈərt/

1. A desolate or barren tract, usu with little or no water
2. A waste
3. A place of solitude

1. Deserted
2. Desolate
3. Uninhabited
4. Uncultivated

desertificāˈtion, desertīzāˈtion or desertificāˈtion, desertīsāˈtion noun

The deterioration or reversion of land to desert conditions, owing to over-grazing, erosion, etc

desert boots plural noun

Laced suede ankle boots with rubber soles

desert island noun

An uninhabited and remote tropical island

desert pavement noun

An underlying bed of gravel that remains after the finer material in a desert soil has been blown away

desert pea (usu Sturt's desert pea) noun

A showy Australian glory-pea (genus Clianthus) with a predominantly scarlet flower

desert rat noun

A jerboa, hence (from the divisional sign of a jerboa) a soldier of the British 7th Armoured Division with service in N Africa in 1941–42

desert varnish noun

A dark surface coating of oxides formed on exposed rock in deserts

desert³ /di-zûrtˈ/

1. Anything that is deserved
2. Claim to reward
3. Merit

desertˈless adjective (rare)

Without merit

get one's just deserts

To meet a deservedly unpleasant fate

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