marooned
Americanadjective
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abandoned on a desolate island or coast by way of punishment or the like, as was done by buccaneers.
In exchange for food supplies left for them on the island, the marooned mutineers handed over the ship's instruments and charts.
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placed or left in an isolated and often dangerous position.
Getting flood relief to the marooned villages has proved difficult.
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abandoned or stuck somewhere without resources.
When flights were grounded after 9/11, Canadians offered their hospitality and their homes to put up marooned Americans.
verb
Etymology
Origin of marooned
Explanation
Someone who's marooned is stranded. When a sailor's boat is washed up on the shore of a deserted island after a big storm, both the sailor and the boat are marooned. If a teenager is abandoned at the mall by her friends, you could describe her as marooned. A marooned cruise ship that's stuck on a rocky beach is probably full of marooned passengers.
Vocabulary lists containing marooned
Minecraft: The Island
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The Worst Class Trip Ever
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Two Roads
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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.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president said 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
This explains the sense Ms. Edebiri exudes of being suddenly marooned and adrift, and in retreat in some way from adulthood.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Having been marooned at the back, Sauber became more respectable performers, and their veteran German driver Nico Hulkenberg even finally scored a podium after 16 years of trying in last year's British Grand Prix.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
Footage taken in the moments before the impact showed multiple motorists driving around the marooned car.
From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026
We also debated heading down to Camp Two that afternoon, but Taske was insistent that we not descend from the Col while Hall was marooned on the South Summit.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
