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# desert

«desert» in Mova's school dictionary: **a large area of land that gets very little rain, so few…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a desert, deserts) — said «DEZ-ert»; verb (desert, deserts, deserted, deserting) — said «di-ZURT»

### meaning for a pupil

1) A desert (DEZ-ert) is a large area of land that gets very little rain, so few plants grow; it may be sandy, rocky, hot or cold. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#m1)

2) To desert (di-ZURT) someone or somewhere is to leave and not come back, when you should stay. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#m2)

3) A deserted place has nobody in it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In geography and science, deserts include the Sahara (hot, Africa), the Mojave (USA), the Great Victoria Desert (Australia) and Antarctica (the largest — a cold desert). Desert plants like cacti store water; animals like camels and lizards are adapted to heat and little water. In safety, deserts are hot by day and can be cold at night; carry water and sun protection. Phrases: «desert island», «deserted street».

### examples

- The Sahara is a huge hot desert. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#x1)
- Cacti grow in the desert. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#x2)
- Camels can go days without water in the desert. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#x3)
- Antarctica is a cold desert. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#x4)
- Take lots of water when you visit the desert. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#x5)
- The soldier deserted his post. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#x6)
- The beach was deserted in winter. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#x7)
- Imagine you are on a desert island. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#x8)
- Now the desert lies behind them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/#x9)

### note

Trap: «desert» (one s, dry land) vs «dessert» (two s, the sweet course after dinner) — remember «dessert has two sugars». Deserts are not always hot or sandy; what makes a desert is very little rain.

### In the corpora

- [Donkeys bray to call other donkeys, and the sound can carry about 3 kilometres across their desert homeland.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/25-horses-zebras-and-donkeys/14/)
- [Desert locusts are grasshoppers that, when crowded, change colour and behaviour and form swarms of billions that eat crops.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/37-butterflies-beetles-flies-mosquitoes-grasshoppers/16/)
- [Meerkats live in big burrows with many tunnels and sleep piled together, because deserts get cold at night.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/125-timon-and-pumbaa-real-meerkats-and-warthogs/10/)
- [Gerbils come from deserts where they live in tunnels, so they love a deep layer of bedding to dig in.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/202-hamsters-gerbils-and-pet-rats-and-mice/9/)
- [In the big boat-house all the fine boats hang up unused, and the place feels deserted.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/29-willows-ch2-part1-ducks-ditty-and-toad-hall/10/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «desert» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desert/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.