# dessert

> English word · Noun · IPA /dɪˈzɜːt/ · frequency rank #9,163

## Definitions
1. The last course of a meal, consisting of fruit, sweet confections etc.
2. A sweet dish or confection served as the last course of a meal.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French dessert, from desservir (“disserve”), from dés- (“dis-”) and servir (“serve”), thus literally meaning “removal of what has been served”.
Note: It was erroneously suggested (e.g. in "Glucose syrups: Technology and Applications" (Peter Hull, 2010)) that the word is derived from the name of Benjamin Delessert, the inventor of beet sugar. However, the term predates him by at least a century.

## Easily confused with
- **dissent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dessert-vs-dissent)
- **dresser** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dessert-vs-dresser)
- **dissect** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dessert-vs-dissect)
- **desert** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/desert-vs-dessert)
- **descent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/descent-vs-dessert)
- **deserts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deserts-vs-dessert)

## Common misspellings (8)
`ddessert`, `desesrt`, `desserrt`, `dessertt`, `dessetr`, `dessret`, `dsesert`, `edssert`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/dessert