marooned; marooning; maroons
1
: to put ashore on a desolate island or coast and leave to one's fate
2
: to place or leave in isolation or without hope of ready escape
plural maroons
1
: a person who is marooned
2
maroon
or Maroon
: a Black person of the Americas who escaped slavery and formed or joined a free and often secluded settlement or a descendant of such a person
Wherever Africans were enslaved in the world, there were runaways who escaped permanently and lived in free independent settlements. These people and their descendants are known as "maroons."—
Richard Grant
Richard GrantFrom the late 17th century to the end of the [U.S.] Civil War, thousands of maroons—runaways who obtained their freedom by occupying remote and uninhabited regions—lived in relative secrecy throughout the 750-square-mile wilderness.—Lex Pryor
Lex Pryor
especially,
usually Maroon
: a maroon of the West Indies or Guiana in the 17th and 18th centuries or a descendant of such a person
In the eighteenth century, a number of Africans … who had been enslaved on plantations in French Guiana and Suriname escaped their forced labor and gathered in groups in the forests between colonial settlements. There these rebels, called Maroons, built their own communities. … Today, Maroons are still living where their ancestors literally cleared paths … —Hilton Als
Hilton Als Decades before, in 1796, the diaspora began setting down roots in Canada when 600 Jamaican Maroons (the descendants of enslaved people who had escaped) were deported from Jamaica to Nova Scotia. —Danica Samuel
Danica Samuel 
Examples of maroon in a Sentence
Verb
sailors marooned on a desert island
Recent Examples on the WebCharna Flam, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, legendary danseur Mikhail Baryshnikov wore a sumptuous velvet suit with a maroon scarf (safe to say, the sartorial splendor fell in line with yesterday’s solar eclipse).
—Maia Torres, Vogue, 9 Apr. 2024
And surveillance photos from some of the crime sites had recorded a particular vehicle: a maroon Pontiac sedan.
—Christopher Kuo, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Gazing placidly at the camera, Davis wears a pink shirt over a maroon tank top and lets her voluminous brown hair catch the sunlight.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 3 Apr. 2024
However, the in-stock options are perfect for spring and beyond, including off-white with pastel accent colors, beige, and maroon.
—Bridget Degnan, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2024
Grey shades, a light blue boxy handbag, and chic maroon pumps were the finishing touches on this outfit.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 1 Apr. 2024
To round out the look, Stewart put on a pair of maroon pumps, with her hair styled in a sleek, wet bun.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 13 Mar. 2024
Police also later recovered a maroon 2021 Dodge Durango that Gunter was known to have been driving.
—Jacob Factor, The Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2024
Carolyn Giardina, Variety, 11 Apr. 2024
The lack of aid has left children like 11-year-old Nour al-Huda Mohammad marooned, wasting away in a hospital bed without enough food or medicine.
—Lauren Weber, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
You could get very severely punished perhaps by marooning or being jailed below the hold.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 30 Dec. 2023
In addition to marooning residents, stopping the convoys will continue to cut off businesses from tourism during one of Big Sur’s peak seasons.
—Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Gross-Matos spent the past four seasons marooned with the Carolina Panthers, totaling 13 sacks and 30 quarterback hits in 55 games and 32 starts.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Tipped off by a hiker who last year stumbled on the looming wooden structure marooned on a patch of empty land, Akos Hadhazy, an opposition legislator, aided by news outlets critical of the government, has turned the walkway into a cause célèbre.
—Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Grace has an intriguing story line about her ambivalence as a mother, but it’s marooned in a sea of nonsense.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024
The 35-year-old school principal ended up on what may go down as the worst tribe in the history of the game, as the original Lulu lost every single immunity challenge as well as the marooning competition.
—EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023
Noun
One key difference between the two’s styling is that Philipps, 44, embraced ‘90s makeup trends and wore a deep maroon lipstick.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, legendary danseur Mikhail Baryshnikov wore a sumptuous velvet suit with a maroon scarf (safe to say, the sartorial splendor fell in line with yesterday’s solar eclipse).
—Maia Torres, Vogue, 9 Apr. 2024
And surveillance photos from some of the crime sites had recorded a particular vehicle: a maroon Pontiac sedan.
—Christopher Kuo, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Gazing placidly at the camera, Davis wears a pink shirt over a maroon tank top and lets her voluminous brown hair catch the sunlight.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 3 Apr. 2024
However, the in-stock options are perfect for spring and beyond, including off-white with pastel accent colors, beige, and maroon.
—Bridget Degnan, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2024
Grey shades, a light blue boxy handbag, and chic maroon pumps were the finishing touches on this outfit.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 1 Apr. 2024
To round out the look, Stewart put on a pair of maroon pumps, with her hair styled in a sleek, wet bun.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 13 Mar. 2024
Police also later recovered a maroon 2021 Dodge Durango that Gunter was known to have been driving.
—Jacob Factor, The Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2024
Verb
Based on Peter Brown’s book, the story follows Roz, a robot voiced by Nyong’o, who is accidentally marooned on an uninhabited island.
—Carolyn Giardina, Variety, 11 Apr. 2024
The lack of aid has left children like 11-year-old Nour al-Huda Mohammad marooned, wasting away in a hospital bed without enough food or medicine.
—Lauren Weber, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
You could get very severely punished perhaps by marooning or being jailed below the hold.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 30 Dec. 2023
In addition to marooning residents, stopping the convoys will continue to cut off businesses from tourism during one of Big Sur’s peak seasons.
—Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Gross-Matos spent the past four seasons marooned with the Carolina Panthers, totaling 13 sacks and 30 quarterback hits in 55 games and 32 starts.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Tipped off by a hiker who last year stumbled on the looming wooden structure marooned on a patch of empty land, Akos Hadhazy, an opposition legislator, aided by news outlets critical of the government, has turned the walkway into a cause célèbre.
—Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Grace has an intriguing story line about her ambivalence as a mother, but it’s marooned in a sea of nonsense.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024
The 35-year-old school principal ended up on what may go down as the worst tribe in the history of the game, as the original Lulu lost every single immunity challenge as well as the marooning competition.
—EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'maroon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
French marron Spanish chestnut
Noun (2)
probably from French maron, marron feral, fugitive, modification of American Spanish cimarrón wild, savage
Articles Related to maroon
Dictionary Entries Near maroon
Cite this Entry
“Maroon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maroon. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
maroon
1 of 2 verb
ma·roon
mə-ˈrün 
1
: to put ashore and abandon on a lonely island or coast
2
: to leave isolated and helpless
maroon
2 of 2 noun
: a dark red
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