maroon

1
[ muh-roon ]
See synonyms for: maroonmaroonedmarooning on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. dark brownish-red.

  2. Chiefly British.

    • a loudly exploding firework consisting of a cardboard container filled with gunpowder.

    • a similar firework used as a danger or warning signal, as by railway brakemen.

Origin of maroon

1
First recorded in 1585–95; from French marron literally, “chestnut (nut and color), firecracker,” Middle French, from Italian marrone “chestnut, brown”; further origin unknown

Words Nearby maroon

Other definitions for maroon (2 of 2)

maroon2
[ muh-roon ]

verb (used with object)
  1. to put ashore and abandon on a desolate island or coast by way of punishment or the like, as was done by buccaneers.

  2. to place in an isolated and often dangerous position: The rising floodwaters marooned us on top of the house.

  1. to abandon and leave without aid or resources: Having lost all his money, he was marooned in the strange city.

noun
  1. (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.

  2. a person who is marooned: Robinson Crusoe lived for years as a maroon.

Origin of maroon

2
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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use maroon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for maroon (1 of 2)

maroon1

/ (məˈruːn) /


verb(tr)
  1. to leave ashore and abandon, esp on an island

  2. to isolate without resources

noun
  1. a descendant of a group of runaway slaves living in the remoter areas of the Caribbean or Guyana

  2. US and Canadian informal a person who has been marooned, esp on an island

Origin of maroon

1
C17 (applied to fugitive slaves): from American Spanish cimarrón wild, literally: dwelling on peaks, from Spanish cima summit

British Dictionary definitions for maroon (2 of 2)

maroon2

/ (məˈruːn) /


noun
    • a dark red to purplish-red colour

    • (as adjective): a maroon carpet

  1. an exploding firework, esp one used as a warning signal

Origin of maroon

2
C18: from French, literally: chestnut, marron 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012