Desert or dessert?
desert is a noun meaning “A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or…”; dessert is a noun meaning “The last course of a meal, consisting of fruit, sweet confections etc”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) desert is about 3.7 times as common as dessert.
What is the difference between desert and dessert?
| desert | dessert | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, adjective, verb | noun |
| Meaning | A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland In particular, a barren, arid area of land which is hot, with sandy, rocky, or parched ground Usually of a place: abandoned, deserted, or uninhabited | The last course of a meal, consisting of fruit, sweet confections etc A sweet dish or confection served as the last course of a meal |
| Example | They were marooned on a desert island in the Pacific | I ordered hummus for a starter, a steak as the main course, and chocolate cake for dessert |
| Forms | deserts | desserts |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdɛz.ət/ /ˈdɛz.ɚt/ /dəˈzɑɹt/ | /dɪˈzɜːt/ /dɪˈzɝt/ |
| In writing | 25 times per million words | 6.8 times per million words |
Sources: desert and dessert in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of desert and dessert
desert
- 1
A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland
- 2
Usually of a place: abandoned, deserted, or uninhabited
They were marooned on a desert island in the Pacific
- 3
To leave (anything that depends on one's presence to survive, exist, or succeed), especially when contrary to a promise or obligation; to abandon; to forsake
You can't just drive off and desert me here, in the middle of nowhere
- 4
That which is deserved or merited; a just punishment or reward
just deserts
- 5
In particular, a barren, arid area of land which is hot, with sandy, rocky, or parched ground
- 6
To leave one's duty or post, especially to leave a military or naval unit without permission
Anyone found deserting will be punished
- 7
Any barren place or situation
dessert
- 1
The last course of a meal, consisting of fruit, sweet confections etc
I ordered hummus for a starter, a steak as the main course, and chocolate cake for dessert
- 2
A sweet dish or confection served as the last course of a meal
Trifle is a favourite dessert of the English, but rivalled by pavlova in Australia and New Zealand
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, desert or dessert?
desert appears 25 times per million words; dessert 6.8 times per million words.
desert 25 times per million wordsdessert 6.8 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search desert vs dessert?
“desert vs dessert” is searched about 14,800 times a month on Google and 560 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“dessert vs desert”, “desert or dessert”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.