des‧ert 1 W3 / dezət $ -ərt / 名词

1 [可数和不可数名词] a large area of land where it is always very dry, and there is a lot of sand :

the Sahara Desert

This area of the country is mostly desert.

in the desert

The plane crash-landed in the desert.

2 [可数名词] a place where there is no activity or where nothing interesting happens :

The railroad yard was a desert now.

► Do not confuse with dessert (=the sweet part of a meal).

COLLOCATIONS

形容词

vast (= extremely big ) the vast Gobi desert in China

empty (= with no buildings or people in it ) Outside the city there was nothing but empty desert.

arid (= with very little rain ) Very little can grow in this arid desert.

an inhospitable desert (= not easy to live or stay in ) The interior of the country is an inhospitable desert.

a barren desert (= where no plants can grow ) Years of intensive farming have turned the area into a barren desert.

desert + NOUN

a desert area/region A hot dry wind blows from the desert areas of North Africa.

a desert landscape the flat desert landscape outside Kuwait

desert country/land Large parts of Oman are desert country.

the desert sun/heat Animals shelter from the desert sun during the day.

短语

a stretch/expanse of desert (= a very large area of desert ) In front of us was nothing but a vast expanse of desert.

THESAURUS

sand a substance that forms beaches and deserts, or an area of this substance : sunbathers lying on the sand | He could see several small figures out on the sands.

beach an area of sand or small stones at the edge of the sea or a lake : the island’s golden beaches | How about a day at the beach? | a pebble beach

desert a large area of land where it is always very hot and dry, and there is a lot of sand : the Sahara desert | They crossed the desert by camel.

dune/sand dune a hill made of sand near the sea or in the desert : We went for a long walk along the dunes. | The dunes are home to a wide variety of birds and plants.