1. (

• desert

) arid land with little or no vegetation ;

2. (

• desert

) (usually plural) a person's deservingness of or entitlement to reward or punishment ;

1. (

• abandon ,
• forsake ,
• desolate ,
• desert

) leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch; "The mother deserted her children" ;

2. (

• defect ,
• desert

) 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" ;

3. (

• desert ,

) leave behind; "the students deserted the campus after the end of exam period" ;