These unrelated words are often mixed up.
Desert is both a noun and a verb, with completely different meanings.
Desert, the noun, refers to a geographical area with a very dry climate. In desert regions such as the Sahara Desert, Gobi Desert, and Death Valley, there may be no rain at all for years.
Desert, the verb, means “to abandon or leave a person or group, unofficially, illegally, or immorally”:
Traditionally, soldiers who deserted during war-time were shot when they were caught.
With this meaning, the word also appears as the nouns, desertion (the act of deserting) and deserter (one who deserts).
Dessert, on the other hand, is a noun, referring to (1) something sweet to eat, such as ice cream or cake, which one eats at the end of a meal, or (2) anything which someone deserves. In the second meaning, we usually say that someone receives their “just desserts” in which the word “just” implies justice.
(1) The first thing to give up if you want to lose weight is dessert!
(2) The student who was kicked out of school for cheating got his just desserts.
Dessert is rarely used with this last meaning in any other phrase—only “just desserts.”
More Examples of How to Use "Desert" in a Sentence
- Contrary to what many might believe, the desert has some of the most beautiful views in the world, and are often found to be teeming with vegetation and animal life.
- Many animals, such as snakes and scorpions, are commonly found in the desert.
- The Antarctic Desert, is the largest desert in the world.
- The vast desert stretches out before me, a seemingly never-ending sea of sand.
- This place is like a desert, a lonely place, a place of severe isolation.
- It’s interesting to study how the plants and animals that live in the desert have adapted to the environmental conditions.
- Camels have special adaptations for living in the desert.
More Examples of How to Use "Dessert" in a Sentence
- When my guests arrived, I started serving dessert—cake, cookies, and fruit tarts.
- Everyone at the wedding was looking forward to the dessert, because they knew that I had made it!
- Should we order dessert, or should we just get coffee?
- My grandmother always serves her famous dessert after every meal.
- The dessert bar at the restaurant is always very popular with our customers.
- For dessert, we will be having New York cheesecake.
- Overly rich and overpriced, the dessert consisted of four different types of cake.
- We ordered desserts afterwards; it was nice to end the meal on a sweet note.
- After the waiter brought us a free dessert sampler, I ordered the apple pie.