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 Web
Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 8 Nov. 2024
The Ghost actress wore a strapless, Oscar de la Renta red dress featuring a mosaic effect pattern with bright black, maroon and burgundy tiles.
—Catherine Santino, People.com, 20 Oct. 2024
Nidal Al-Mughrabi, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024
In this excerpt on the birth of Survivor, Nussbaum goes back to the moments before the 16 original castaways were marooned off the sides of a ship in the South China Sea, left to row toward a beach where their game — and the production of the show — had already begun.
—Emily Nussbaum, Vulture, 5 July 2024
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Noun
During Wednesday’s season-opening victory, Dawson Garcia provided many reasons for Gophers men’s basketball fans to be grateful the 6-foot-11 forward wears maroon and gold.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 8 Nov. 2024
The Ghost actress wore a strapless, Oscar de la Renta red dress featuring a mosaic effect pattern with bright black, maroon and burgundy tiles.
—Catherine Santino, People.com, 20 Oct. 2024
Verb
On Monday, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said around 100,000 people were marooned in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun without medical or food supplies.
—Nidal Al-Mughrabi, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024
In this excerpt on the birth of Survivor, Nussbaum goes back to the moments before the 16 original castaways were marooned off the sides of a ship in the South China Sea, left to row toward a beach where their game — and the production of the show — had already begun.
—Emily Nussbaum, Vulture, 5 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for maroon
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Cite this Entry
“Maroon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maroon. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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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