DictionaryAI

maroon

Saymuh-ROONUS/məˈɹun//məˈɹuːn/AUS/məˈɹəʉn/

Noun pluralmaroons

Verbmaroons, marooning, marooned

8 meanings of maroon

Practice

  1. 1
    dark red coloredadjective
    Having a dark red color mixed with a little brown.

    He wore a maroon sweater to the party.

    Their car is maroon, not bright red.

    Similarburgundy, claret, oxblood

  2. 2
    dark rednouncountable or uncountable
    A dark red color with some brown in it.

    Think of dried cherries: red, but darker and a little brown.

    She painted her bedroom walls a deep maroon.

    The school's team colors are maroon and gold.

    Similarburgundy, claret, oxblood

    Note
  3. 3
    leave strandedverbtransitive
    To leave someone alone in a faraway place where they cannot get help or escape.

    The pirates planned to maroon the cook on a tiny desert island.

    The crew marooned the thief on a rocky shore with no food.

    UsageOften be marooned: they were marooned on an island.

    Similarstrand, abandon, desert

    Note
  4. 4
    escaped slavenouncountable
    A Black person who escaped slavery in the Caribbean or the Americas, or one of their descendants.

    The Maroons built hidden villages high in the Jamaican mountains.

    Every Maroon in the settlement learned the secret paths through the forest.

    UsageUsually use a capital when naming a people: the Maroons.

    Note
  5. 5
    of escaped slavesadjective
    Connected with the culture and communities of people who escaped slavery in the Caribbean or the Americas.

    We listened to Maroon drumming at the festival in Jamaica.

    The museum has a room about Maroon life in the mountains.

    UsageUsually written with a capital: Maroon music.

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 6
    foolnounslangcountable
    A joking, slightly rude word for a foolish person.

    Some maroon left the freezer door open all night.

    Don't be a maroon. Read the directions before you start.

    UsageOften said as what a maroon!, even about yourself.

    Similarclown, buffoon, chump, dolt, bozo

    Note
  2. 7
    signal fireworknouncountable
    A loud firework shot into the sky as a signal or a warning.

    Like a fire alarm for a whole town, but the alarm is a loud bang in the sky.

    They fired a maroon to call the lifeboat crew to the harbor.

    When the maroon went off, everyone hurried to the shelters.

    Note
  3. 8
    nounrare
    A person left behind in a wild, faraway place, like an island, with no way home.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of maroon apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 3–5

From French marron meaning "wild" or "runaway", which came from Spanish cimarrón meaning "fugitive" or "wild".

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

Meanings 1–2

From French marron, meaning "chestnut" or "brown".

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

  • The color word derives from French marron, meaning chestnut or brown. en.wiktionary.org
Meaning 7

It probably comes from the French word for chestnut, from the bang a chestnut makes when it bursts in a fire.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

  • The firework sense derives from French marron, meaning “chestnut”. api.repository.cam.ac.uk
  • The documented derivation is from French marron, “chestnut”, associated with the noise of a chestnut bursting in a fire. api.repository.cam.ac.uk
Meaning 6

Bugs Bunny, a cartoon character, said the word "moron" wrong on purpose. This word comes from the way he said it.