A desert is a dry region, pronounced DEZ-ert. A dessert is the sweet dish or course often served at the end of a meal, pronounced dih-ZERT. The verb desert means to abandon someone or something and also sounds like dih-ZERT. Meaning tells you which spelling to use when the words sound alike.
Compare spelling, sound, and meaning
Stress is the emphasis you hear on one syllable. In the chart, capital letters show which syllable gets the emphasis. Merriam-Webster’s entry for desert and entry for dessert.
| Word | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| desert for a dry place | DEZ-ert | We crossed the desert before sunrise. |
| dessert for the sweet course | dih-ZERT | We shared a slice of lemon cake for dessert. |
| desert for abandoning | dih-ZERT | We won’t desert the project halfway through. |
Desert with one s names a dry place
In A narrow road runs through the desert, desert names a dry region. In desert plants and desert soil, it describes what belongs to that kind of region. All three examples stress the first syllable.
In desert island, desert means uninhabited or sparsely inhabited. An island can be a desert island even if it gets plenty of rain.
Dessert with two s’s names the sweet course
In We ordered dessert, the word names a course. In The bakery sells three chilled desserts, it names individual dishes. The spelling and stress stay the same.
For a spelling cue, think something sweet. Both words start with s, and dessert has two s’s.
Desert as a verb means abandon
In The crew refused to desert the project, the verb means to leave the project behind. It has one s and stresses the second syllable. The past form is deserted, as in The crew deserted the project.
Compare We passed a desert camp and We passed a deserted camp. The first describes the camp’s setting. The second says the camp was empty or abandoned.
Why just deserts has one s
In get your just deserts, deserts means what you deserve, usually an unwelcome consequence. It has one s and sounds like desserts. If the phrase might distract readers, got what they deserved gives the meaning directly. Merriam-Webster on just deserts.
Practice choosing desert or dessert
- Fill in both blanks. After a morning hike in the ___, we ordered peach pie for ___.
- Correct the spelling. We saved two pieces of cake for desert.
- Fill in the blank with a verb meaning abandon. Please don’t ___ the project before the last rehearsal.
- Say desert road and desert the camp aloud. Which syllable carries the stress in each?
- What does each phrase tell you about a place? A desert camp and a deserted camp.
- Choose the spelling for the expression meaning what they deserved. The rival team got its just ___.
Show answers and explanations
- Desert, dessert. The first names the dry place where you hiked. The second names the sweet course.
- We saved two pieces of cake for dessert. The word for the sweet dish or course has two s’s.
- Desert. The verb means abandon and has one s. It stresses the second syllable.
- DEZ-ert road. Dih-ZERT the camp. The first use describes the road’s setting. The second is a verb meaning abandon.
- A desert camp is in a dry region. A deserted camp is empty or abandoned. The two descriptions can both apply to the same camp.
- Deserts. In this expression, the word means what is deserved. It sounds like the plural of dessert.
Related writing guides
- Look up other words that are easy to mix up. Commonly Confused Words in English.
- Hear another sound difference that helps you choose a spelling. Breath vs. Breathe.
