marooned; marooning; maroons
1
: to put ashore on a desolate island or coast and leave to one's fate
2
: to place or leave in isolation or without hope of ready escape
plural maroons
1
: a person who is marooned
2
maroon
or Maroon
: a Black person of the Americas who escaped slavery and formed or joined a free and often secluded settlement or a descendant of such a person
Wherever Africans were enslaved in the world, there were runaways who escaped permanently and lived in free independent settlements. These people and their descendants are known as "maroons."—
Richard Grant
Richard GrantFrom the late 17th century to the end of the [U.S.] Civil War, thousands of maroons—runaways who obtained their freedom by occupying remote and uninhabited regions—lived in relative secrecy throughout the 750-square-mile wilderness.—Lex Pryor
Lex Pryor
especially,
usually Maroon
: a maroon of the West Indies or Guiana in the 17th and 18th centuries or a descendant of such a person
In the eighteenth century, a number of Africans … who had been enslaved on plantations in French Guiana and Suriname escaped their forced labor and gathered in groups in the forests between colonial settlements. There these rebels, called Maroons, built their own communities. … Today, Maroons are still living where their ancestors literally cleared paths … —Hilton Als
Hilton Als Decades before, in 1796, the diaspora began setting down roots in Canada when 600 Jamaican Maroons (the descendants of enslaved people who had escaped) were deported from Jamaica to Nova Scotia. —Danica Samuel
Danica Samuel 
Examples of maroon in a Sentence
Verb
sailors marooned on a desert island
Recent Examples on the WebRobyn Mowatt, Essence, 1 Apr. 2024
To round out the look, Stewart put on a pair of maroon pumps, with her hair styled in a sleek, wet bun.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 13 Mar. 2024
Police also later recovered a maroon 2021 Dodge Durango that Gunter was known to have been driving.
—Jacob Factor, The Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2024
Over time leaves gracefully cascade down with bright red flowers emerging from dark maroon calyxes.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024
At Pinewood, RuPaul emerged from a bathroom, decked out for a non-drag segment of the show in a Trina Turk suit with a swirling, psychedelic maroon print.
—Ronan Farrow, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2024
Gomez's figure-flaunting gown featured a scalloped neckline and maroon embellishments crafted from 450,000 sequins.
—Brittany Talarico, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024
Police and firefighters responded to a multi-vehicle crash at 3:39 p.m. Monday after a silver GMC pickup truck traveling east on 64th Avenue ran a red light at Lamar Street, hitting a maroon Toyota sedan and a gray Ford Bronco.
—Katie Langford, The Denver Post, 5 Feb. 2024
Trending Defendants Jordan, who wore a maroon vest, and Washington, in a gray suit, looked on with interest throughout questioning.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2024
Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Gross-Matos spent the past four seasons marooned with the Carolina Panthers, totaling 13 sacks and 30 quarterback hits in 55 games and 32 starts.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Tipped off by a hiker who last year stumbled on the looming wooden structure marooned on a patch of empty land, Akos Hadhazy, an opposition legislator, aided by news outlets critical of the government, has turned the walkway into a cause célèbre.
—Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Grace has an intriguing story line about her ambivalence as a mother, but it’s marooned in a sea of nonsense.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024
The 35-year-old school principal ended up on what may go down as the worst tribe in the history of the game, as the original Lulu lost every single immunity challenge as well as the marooning competition.
—EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023
Your tribe lost every single immunity challenge, and the marooning challenge.
—EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023
For 12 days, we were marooned at home — with out-of-town company, no less.
—Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Jan. 2024
Enlarge / Starfield is the astronaut marooned on the Xbox planet, gazing longingly at Call of Duty exploring the rest of the PlayStation galaxy.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 27 June 2023
Noun
Grey shades, a light blue boxy handbag, and chic maroon pumps were the finishing touches on this outfit.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 1 Apr. 2024
To round out the look, Stewart put on a pair of maroon pumps, with her hair styled in a sleek, wet bun.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 13 Mar. 2024
Police also later recovered a maroon 2021 Dodge Durango that Gunter was known to have been driving.
—Jacob Factor, The Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2024
Over time leaves gracefully cascade down with bright red flowers emerging from dark maroon calyxes.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024
At Pinewood, RuPaul emerged from a bathroom, decked out for a non-drag segment of the show in a Trina Turk suit with a swirling, psychedelic maroon print.
—Ronan Farrow, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2024
Gomez's figure-flaunting gown featured a scalloped neckline and maroon embellishments crafted from 450,000 sequins.
—Brittany Talarico, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024
Police and firefighters responded to a multi-vehicle crash at 3:39 p.m. Monday after a silver GMC pickup truck traveling east on 64th Avenue ran a red light at Lamar Street, hitting a maroon Toyota sedan and a gray Ford Bronco.
—Katie Langford, The Denver Post, 5 Feb. 2024
Trending Defendants Jordan, who wore a maroon vest, and Washington, in a gray suit, looked on with interest throughout questioning.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2024
Verb
In addition to marooning residents, stopping the convoys will continue to cut off businesses from tourism during one of Big Sur’s peak seasons.
—Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Gross-Matos spent the past four seasons marooned with the Carolina Panthers, totaling 13 sacks and 30 quarterback hits in 55 games and 32 starts.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Tipped off by a hiker who last year stumbled on the looming wooden structure marooned on a patch of empty land, Akos Hadhazy, an opposition legislator, aided by news outlets critical of the government, has turned the walkway into a cause célèbre.
—Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Grace has an intriguing story line about her ambivalence as a mother, but it’s marooned in a sea of nonsense.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024
The 35-year-old school principal ended up on what may go down as the worst tribe in the history of the game, as the original Lulu lost every single immunity challenge as well as the marooning competition.
—EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023
Your tribe lost every single immunity challenge, and the marooning challenge.
—EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023
For 12 days, we were marooned at home — with out-of-town company, no less.
—Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Jan. 2024
Enlarge / Starfield is the astronaut marooned on the Xbox planet, gazing longingly at Call of Duty exploring the rest of the PlayStation galaxy.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 27 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'maroon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
French marron Spanish chestnut
Noun (2)
probably from French maron, marron feral, fugitive, modification of American Spanish cimarrón wild, savage
Articles Related to maroon
Dictionary Entries Near maroon
Cite this Entry
“Maroon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maroon. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
maroon
1 of 2 verb
ma·roon
mə-ˈrün 
1
: to put ashore and abandon on a lonely island or coast
2
: to leave isolated and helpless
maroon
2 of 2 noun
: a dark red
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