deserts
noun/dɪˈzɜːts/
/dɪˈzɜːrts/
Word OriginMiddle English: via Old French desert, from deservir ‘serve well’, from Latin deservire ‘serve well or zealously’.
[plural]Idioms Idioms
See deserts in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarysomebody’s (just) deserts
- what somebody deserves, especially when it is something bad
- The family of the victim said that the killer had got his just deserts when he was jailed for life.
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
deserts