dessert

noun

des·​sert di-ˈzərt 

1

: a usually sweet course or dish (as of pastry or ice cream) usually served at the end of a meal

Note: Do not confuse dessert with desert, which usually refers to arid land having sparse vegetation, a very warm climate, and minimal sporadic rainfall.

2

British : a fresh fruit served after a sweet course

Did you know?

Where does the phrase just deserts come from?

Why do we say that someone has gotten their just deserts? Does this turn of phrase have anything to do with dessert (“a sweet food eaten at the end of a meal”) or desert (“a dry land with few plants and little rainfall”)? In fact, the phrase employs neither of these words. Instead, it uses a completely unrelated word that happens to be pronounced like the word for sweets and spelled like the one for a dry place: desert, meaning “reward or punishment deserved or earned by one’s qualities or acts.” This little-used noun is, as you might have guessed, related to the English verb deserve. It has nothing to do with arid, dry land, or with cookies and ice cream.

Examples of dessert in a Sentence

She doesn't care for rich desserts.

Coffee and tea will be served with dessert.

We had ice cream and apple pie for dessert.

Recent Examples on the Web

But don’t snooze on dessert—executive pastry chef Rabii Saber was recently named a James Beard Awards finalist. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Sep. 2026

Test your knowledge of football futures, dessert drama and more in this week's American Culture Quiz. — Staff, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026

There are plenty of dishes unique to Palm Beach, too—crudos, handmade pastas, lobster salad, and a particularly tempting dessert list—but the Riviera influence is unmistakable. — Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026

That night, somewhere between a racist stranger, a free dessert, my girlfriend publicly shaming a man in a Mediterranean restaurant and our demanding cat, the City of Angels started to feel like home. — Mayur Chauhan, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, going back to Middle French desserte "food cleared from the table (in the phrase desserte des més), course served at the end of the meal," derivative of desservir "to clear the table (of food, dishes)," from des- dis- + servir "to serve entry 1"

Note: Middle French desserte is apparently formed by analogy with desert from deservir—see note at desert entry 4.

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dessert

• dessert spoon
• dessert wine

Rhymes for dessert

• alert
• assert
• avert
• divert
• evert
• exert
• inert
• insert
• invert
• nightshirt
• overt
• revert

Kids Definition

dessert

noun

des·​sert di-ˈzərt 

: a course of usually sweet food, fruit, or cheese usually served at the end of a meal