desert or dessert?
Dessert is a noun, is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, and has only one modern meaning: "a sweet course eaten at the end of a meal." Desert is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable when it is a noun meaning "an arid area," and with the stress on the second syllable when it is a noun meaning "something somebody deserved," as in just deserts and similar expressions. The stress is also on the second syllable when desert is used as a verb, meaning "abandon something" or "run away."
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