dessert
Americannoun
-
desserts
plural
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cake, pie, fruit, pudding, ice cream, etc., served as the final course of a meal.
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British. a serving of fresh fruit after the main course of a meal.
noun
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the sweet, usually last course of a meal
-
(esp formerly) fruit, dates, nuts, etc, served at the end of a meal
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dessert
First recorded in 1780–90; from French, derivative of desservir “to remove what was served, clear the table,” from Old French, from des- dis- 1 + servir “to serve” ( see serve)
Explanation
Served as the last course of a meal, a dessert is often sweet, like cake or pie. If you have a sweet tooth, you may wish it were the only course of the meal. The word dessert originates from an interesting French word, desservir, which actually means "to clear the table." After the dinner dishes are removed, the host brings out the dessert. These days, desserts don't always have to be a sweet course, but can instead be a savory or a cheese course. Other offbeat treats include Vidalia onion ice cream and radish pie.
Vocabulary lists containing dessert
Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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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.
See Examples For:
Ideally after lunch, I’ll get dessert at Humphrey Yogart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
While the other judges sometimes treat dessert as something illicit, Lawson’s unabashed enthusiasm for baked goods is a welcome change.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
What Tom Nancy hasn’t accounted for are the great trials of life as a human child: homework, chores, no dessert after dinner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
These companies saw hundreds of customers queueing to create their own dessert pot, despite it not being a particularly cheap treat, with tubs costing as much as £12.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
The servers are taking dessert orders, and Uncle Pat is walking around, insisting that everyone get what they want, since he’s picking up the tab.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
The findings suggest that a compound commonly associated with desserts and sweet fragrances could eventually contribute to an entirely different field: helping scientists develop better ways to protect damaged tissue and support healing.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
I missed the creative process and dreaming-up desserts seemed like the perfect outlet.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
“Wattle seed’s coffee and chocolate notes add a native differential to certain dishes, but specifically desserts and canapés,” says Bendrau.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
But Hejazi says its use in drinks and desserts is still "an emerging trend" and hasn't yet hit the mainstream in the UK.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
When the second course arrived they noticed a number of unfamiliar desserts too.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
