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One is a dry landscape or to abandon, the other is the sweet course.
Side-by-side comparison
"Desert" (one 's') is the arid landscape with little rain. Also the verb to abandon or to desert. "He deserted his post" = he abandoned his post.
The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world.
Temperatures in the desert can exceed 50 degrees.
He deserted the army during the war.
"Dessert" (two 's') is the sweet course at the end of a meal. Trick: two 's' because dessert is so good you want seconds.
We ordered chocolate cake for dessert.
The dessert menu had six options.
I always save room for dessert.
Common mistake
- •"What do you want for desert?" is wrong: the sweet course is "dessert" (with double S).
- •"Desert" with one S is the sandy landscape or the verb to abandon.
Trick to remember it
- •"Dessert" has double S because it is so good you want seconds (double serving).
- •One S is the desert: dry and without extras.
Quick rule
- •Sweet course = "dessert" (two S's, like "sweet stuff").
- •Sandy place = "desert" (one S).
Did you know?
There is an English phrase "just deserts" (one S) that has nothing to do with sweets or sand. It means "what one deserves" and comes from "deserve". If you see it written with double S ("just desserts"), it is a spelling error. And the verb "to desert" (to abandon): "he deserted his post", also has one S, the same as the landscape.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
For _____ , she ordered a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The Sahara is the largest hot _____ in the world.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy