maroon
1 Americanadjective
-
dark brownish-red.
-
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.
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verb (used with object)
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maroons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
marooned,
past participle, past
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marooning
present participle
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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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maroons
plural
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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
-
-
a dark red to purplish-red colour
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( as adjective )
a maroon carpet
-
-
an exploding firework, esp one used as a warning signal
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
maroonsimple
-
maroonssimple
-
have maroonedperfect
-
has maroonedperfect
-
am marooningprogressive
-
are marooningprogressive
-
is marooningprogressive
-
have been marooningperfect progressive
-
has been marooningperfect progressive
Past
-
maroonedsimple
-
had maroonedperfect
-
was marooningprogressive
-
were marooningprogressive
-
had been marooningperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
Prosecutors played soundless footage of him that night, wearing a maroon shirt, dark hat, jeans and Converse shoes, and he was transported back to Utah County and formally booked on 12 September.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The 23 senators present donned maroon velvet robes Monday and swore to "do impartial justice according to the constitution and the laws of the Philippines" at the trial.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
In his maroon robes, simple sandals and wide-rimmed spectacles, the Dalai Lama is an unlikely global celebrity.
From Barron's ● Feb. 2, 2026
Other videos released previously from the scene show the maroon SUV crashed into the side of the road.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
We wore the same maroon blazers, the same gray slacks and skirts.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
The area was once a refuge for escaped slaves known as maroons who fought fiercely against their British captors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2023
Or the impassioned, expressionist brushwork or dark blues and maroons.
From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2022
After an expedition to a hostile planet, he unintentionally maroons his fellow explorers, so they have no choice but to set up a colony there.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 14, 2022
That maroons 100 chatty senators - including four Democrats in the heat of a nomination fight - for the serious constitutional business of the impeachment trial, for hours at a time.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 21, 2020
She and William saw them at dusk, when “the sky was so very lovely, too, maroons, lavenders, blues.”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
In short: Wilson snuck a 2,700-year-old poem through the gates of mainstream taste — and after that victory, her arrogance left her marooned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
His universally acclaimed “Summer of Soul” dropped in June 2021, offering deep refreshment to thirsty concertgoers marooned in a barren season for live music.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026
Clotted ribbons of trash were drifting past, from marooned vessels forced to toss rotting garbage overboard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
In a post on Truth Social, Trump called it a "humanitarian gesture," saying many of the marooned ships "were running low on food," but offered few details on how the mission would work.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
She seemed marooned in a sea of staring, buzzing faces.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
Fifteenth-century sailors shared stories of ships that had become ensnared in the algae, marooning their crews at sea.
From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2023
This time a van's clutch has stopped working, marooning them in the central reservation of the busy motorway.
From BBC ● May 1, 2023
The lack of open nursing home beds is marooning some patients in hospitals for weeks while social workers seek placements.
From Salon ● Jan. 27, 2023
Debris flows and swollen creeks blocked roads and highways, marooning hundreds of people for hours and, in some cases, days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2023
"I meant to say that this fellow whom you cornered and chased out of the air is one of the fellows who hazed Hal's cousin by marooning him on this island," Mr. Perry answered.
From The Radio Boys in the Thousand Islands by J. W. Duffield
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.
