maroon
1 Americanadjective
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dark brownish-red.
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Chiefly British.
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a loudly exploding firework consisting of a cardboard container filled with gunpowder.
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a similar firework used as a danger or warning signal, as by railway brakemen.
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verb (used with object)
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to put ashore and abandon on a desolate island or coast by way of punishment or the like, as was done by buccaneers.
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to place in an isolated and often dangerous position.
The rising floodwaters marooned us on top of the house.
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to abandon and leave without aid or resources.
Having lost all his money, he was marooned in the strange city.
noun
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(often initial capital letter) any of a group of Black people, descended from fugitive slaves of the 17th and 18th centuries, living in the West Indies and Guiana, especially in mountainous areas.
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a person who is marooned.
Robinson Crusoe lived for years as a maroon.
verb
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to leave ashore and abandon, esp on an island
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to isolate without resources
noun
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a descendant of a group of runaway slaves living in the remoter areas of the Caribbean or Guyana
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informal a person who has been marooned, esp on an island
noun
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a dark red to purplish-red colour
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( as adjective )
a maroon carpet
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an exploding firework, esp one used as a warning signal
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has maroonedperfect 3rd person singular
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have maroonedperfect
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are marooningprogressive
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is marooningprogressive 3rd person singular
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am marooningprogressive 1st person singular
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marooningparticiple
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have been marooningperfect progressive
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has been marooningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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maroonssingular 3rd person
Past
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had maroonedperfect
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was marooningprogressive singular
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had been marooningperfect progressive
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were marooningprogressive plural
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maroonedparticiple
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maroonedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of maroon1
First recorded in 1585–95; from French marron literally, “chestnut (nut and color), firecracker,” Middle French, from Italian marrone “chestnut, brown”; further origin unknown
Origin of maroon2
First recorded in 1660–70; from French mar(r)on, apparently from Colonial Spanish cimarrón “wild”; first used in reference to domestic animals that escaped into the woods, later to people who escaped slavery; see cimarron
Explanation
To maroon is to strand someone in an isolated place, often a deserted island. Think of "Gilligan's Island," "Survivor," or "Lost" — TV shows that feature folks marooned on islands — and you've got the idea. Maroon can be a noun or verb, depending on how you use it. If you maroon your best friend on a deserted island, in addition to being a terrible friend, you're using the word as a verb. If this friend was wearing a brownish-red shirt at the time he was marooned, you would use the adjective maroon to describe the shirt's color.
Vocabulary lists containing maroon
Words Every Pirate Should Know
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The House on Mango Street
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Red
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kathryn, on the other hand, is filling up her days with a part-time position at the local mall’s J.Crew outlet and taking care of eight chow chow puppies she’s named after Maroon 5 songs.
From Salon • May 17, 2025
And Azerbaijan's Mamagama go all Maroon 5 on Run With U, a smooth pop song elevated by a twinkling riff on the saz – a long-necked plucked instrument similar to the lute.
From BBC • May 9, 2025
A spokesperson for the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen said it was considering the "next steps" for the treatment of Rothko's Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2025
“Kelsea’s not a pop robot,” says Adam Levine of Maroon 5, the longtime “Voice” coach who’s working with Ballerini on the show’s upcoming season.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2024
That year I started working for the school newspaper, The Maroon Wave.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
