dessert

American  

[dih-zurt] / dɪˈzɜrt /

noun

1. cake, pie, fruit, pudding, ice cream, etc., served as the final course of a meal.

2. British. a serving of fresh fruit after the main course of a meal.

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dessert British  

/ dɪˈzɜːt /

noun

1. the sweet, usually last course of a meal

2. (esp formerly) fruit, dates, nuts, etc, served at the end of a meal

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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.

Example Sentences

It was also a performance powered by an impressive amount of dessert.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Don’t forget the in-house garlic sauce, or the baklava for dessert.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

At Christmas, we make my great-grandaunt’s tres leches cake for dessert, which comes from a hand-written recipe so old the measurements and method aren’t clearly spelled out.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026

Awad had an unrelenting but self-deprecating sense of humor, and he loved his wife’s knafeh, the sweet, stretchy cheese Palestinian dessert.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

When we’re done with dessert, it’s almost eleven p.m., and all we have left to do is load up the cars and say our farewells.

From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan

Related Words

• cake
• candy
• confection
• cookie
• fruit
• ice cream
• pastry
• pie
• sweet