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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
Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 18 Nov. 2024
Larry Johnston and George acquired the dessert chain from Juan and Tammy Edgerton in 2022.
—Gary Stern, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
Impossible pie is a dream dessert for the people who love custard pies and coconut, as these are the dominant flavors of the recipe.
—Darcy Lenz, Southern Living, 5 Nov. 2024
On Veterans Day, a complimentary dine-in appetizer or dessert paired with a soft beverage for veterans and active-duty military with ID.
—Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dessert 
Dictionary Entries Near dessert
Cite this Entry
“Dessert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dessert. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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dessert
noun
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