1. 沙漠;荒漠
    A desert is a large area of land, usually in a hot region, where there is almost no water, rain, trees, or plants.

    e.g. ...the Sahara Desert.
           撒哈拉大沙漠
    e.g. ...the burning desert sun...
           沙漠中火辣辣的太阳

2. 枯燥乏味的地方（或境况）
    If you refer to a place or situation as a desert, you think it is bad for people because it is not interesting, exciting, or useful in any way.

desert在线翻译

    e.g. They live in 12 high-rise apartment buildings that sit in a desert of concrete...
           他们居住的地方是坐落于一片钢筋水泥丛林中的12栋高层公寓楼。
    e.g. Pubs are a cultural desert.
           酒馆是文化沙漠。

3. 离弃，舍弃(某地)
    If people or animals desert a place, they leave it and it becomes empty.

    e.g. Farmers are deserting their fields and coming here looking for jobs...
           小农场主正舍弃他们的土地，到这里来寻找工作。
    e.g. After the show, the audience deserts the Blackpool streets.
           演出结束后，观众从布莱克浦的大街上消失了踪迹。

4. 抛弃，遗弃(某人)
    If someone deserts you, they go away and leave you, and no longer help or support you.

    e.g. Mrs Roding's husband deserted her years ago...
           罗丁太太的丈夫数年前抛弃了她。
    e.g. He has been deserted by most of his advisers.
           他的大多数顾问都弃他而去。

5. 背弃;放弃;脱离
    If you desert something that you support, use, or are involved with, you stop supporting it, using it, or being involved with it.

    e.g. The paper's price rise will encourage readers to desert in even greater numbers...
           报纸价格的上涨将导致更多的读者不再订阅。
    e.g. He was pained to see many youngsters deserting kibbutz life...
           看到那么多的年轻人放弃了合作农场的生活，他感到很痛心。

6. 突然丧失(特质、技巧等)
    If a quality or skill that you normally have deserts you, you suddenly find that you do not have it when you need it or want it.

    e.g. Even when he appeared to be depressed, a dry sense of humour never deserted him...
           即使在他看上去很沮丧的时候，他也从没有丧失过自己的冷面幽默。
    e.g. She lost the next five games, and the set, as her confidence abruptly deserted her.
           她突然自信心全失，接下来连败 5 局，并最终丢了这一盘。

7. 擅离(职守);（尤指从军队)开小差
      If someone deserts, or deserts a job, especially a job in the armed forces, they leave that job without permission.

      e.g. He was a second-lieutenant in the army until he deserted...
             他在擅离部队之前是一名陆军少尉。
      e.g. He deserted from army intelligence last month...
             上个月他从陆军情报机关开小差跑了。

8. 应得的惩罚;报应
      If you say that someone has got their just deserts, you mean that they deserved the unpleasant things that have happened to them, because they did something bad.

desert在线翻译

      e.g. At the end of the book the child's true identity is discovered, and the bad guys get their just deserts.
             在书的结尾，那个孩子的真实身份大白于世，坏人则得到了应有的惩罚。