Leave in the lurch

The answer

DESERT

6 letters. See every clue for this answer on the DESERT answer page.

Used 16 times across 13 distinct years; most recently in 2025; first recorded in 1997. It appears in 11 publications in the xd corpus. Frequency and last-seen figures come from the xd crossword corpus only.

Other answers for this clue

The same clue has also been answered these ways in the xd corpus. Answers inside this collection link to their own answer page.

• ABANDON (13 uses in xd)
• JILT (11 uses in xd)
• DITCH (8 uses in xd)
• STRAND (5 uses in xd)
• BAILON (2 uses in xd)

Other clues for DESERT

Every other clue in this collection answered by DESERT, most used first.

• Abandon - used 47 times, most recently in 2023
• Forsake - used 14 times, most recently in 2007
• Leave high and dry - used 11 times, most recently in 2023
• Gobi or Mojave - used 9 times, most recently in 2026
• Maroon - used 9 times, most recently in 2026
• Dry expanse - used 8 times, most recently in 2026
• Gobi or Sahara - used 8 times, most recently in 2023
• Sahara, for one - used 8 times, most recently in 2023
• Hot spot - used 7 times, most recently in 2026
• Oasis setting - used 7 times, most recently in 2026
• Arid expanse - used 6 times, most recently in 2023
• Sahara or Gobi - used 6 times, most recently in 2026

Related clues

Clues in this collection of the same answer length that share a word with this clue, or match its answer pattern when no word is shared. Most used first.

• In the thick of - AMIDST, used 91 times
• Takes the wheel - STEERS, used 75 times
• On the beach - ASHORE, used 74 times
• On the go - ACTIVE, used 73 times
• Capital of the Bahamas - NASSAU, used 64 times
• City on the Rio Grande - LAREDO, used 64 times

Search the clue collection

Search by clue words or by answer, or type a pattern with the letters you have and a blank for each square you do not know. The characters _ ? . and - all work as blanks.