Desert vs Dessert at a glance
- desert
/ˈdezət/ · noun
A large, dry area of land with very little rain, often covered in sand.
- The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world.
- We drove through the desert for six hours without seeing a town.
- dessert
/dɪˈzɜːt/ · noun
Sweet food you eat at the end of a meal.
- What's for dessert? I hope it's chocolate cake.
- I'm too full for dessert, thanks.
How to remember it
Dessert has two s's because you always want a second helping. Stress also helps: DEsert (first syllable) but desSERT (second syllable).
Good to know
Desert is also a verb meaning to leave someone or something alone and never come back ("His friends deserted him"). The verb is pronounced /dɪˈzɜːt/, exactly like dessert. In British English, dessert is also called pudding or sweet.
Common mistakes
Wrong: We had ice cream for desert.
Right: We had ice cream for dessert.
Wrong: Camels can live in the dessert for days without water.
Right: Camels can live in the desert for days without water.
Quick quiz
1.For , we shared a big piece of apple pie.
2.It almost never rains in the .
3.The restaurant has a great menu.
Pick the right word for each gap.