Mojave Desert

Australia/məˈhɐːviːˌdesət/Australia/məʉˈhɐːviːˌdesət/

proper noun

An arid desert in southern California, north and east of Los Angeles and southeast of the Sierra Nevada, the driest desert in North America.

OriginMojave Hamakhaave →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. An arid desert in southern California, north and east of Los Angeles and southeast of the Sierra Nevada, the driest desert in North America.

Origin

  1. MojaveHamakhaave“beside the water”
  2. EnglishMojave Desert

Named after the Mohave people, from a shortened form of their endonym, Mojave Hamakhaave (“beside the water”). The spelling Mojave is from Spanish, while Mohave comes from modern English.

More words from Mojave

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Mojave Desert. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mojave%20Desert

MLA

“Mojave Desert.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mojave%20Desert. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Mojave Desert,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mojave%20Desert.

Source: Mojave Desert on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.