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 Web
Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2025
The cooling for the system was developed in concert with Cooler Master and Noctua, and is anchored by an oversize 120mm CPU fan in Noctua's signature beige and maroon.
—Michael Kan, PCMAG, 25 Feb. 2025
Dalton Ross, EW.com, 27 Feb. 2025
During filming for the premiere, which aired on Feb. 26, production hit a snag as Kevin Leung injured his shoulder during the marooning challenge.
—Julia Moore, People.com, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for maroon
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Noun
Officers in the metro patrol division of the Kansas City Police Department tried to pull over a maroon Dodge Avenger near East 58th and Olive streets around 2:45 p.m., according to Officer Alayna Gonzalez, a KCPD spokesperson.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2025
The cooling for the system was developed in concert with Cooler Master and Noctua, and is anchored by an oversize 120mm CPU fan in Noctua's signature beige and maroon.
—Michael Kan, PCMAG, 25 Feb. 2025
Verb
During the opening marooning challenge, viewers saw Kevin Leung injure his shoulder going under a muddy net, but what actually transpired was much more involved than what aired on TV.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 27 Feb. 2025
During filming for the premiere, which aired on Feb. 26, production hit a snag as Kevin Leung injured his shoulder during the marooning challenge.
—Julia Moore, People.com, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for maroon
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Cite this Entry
“Maroon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maroon. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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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