maroon: Meaning and Definition of

ma•roon

Pronunciation: (mu-rn'), [key]
— adj.
  1. dark brownish-red.
    1. a loudly exploding firework consisting of a cardboard container filled with gunpowder.
    2. a similar firework used as a danger or warning signal, as by railway brakemen.

ma•roon

Pronunciation: (mu-rn'), [key]
— v.t.
  1. to put ashore and abandon on a desolate island or coast by way of punishment or the like, as was done by buccaneers.
  2. to place in an isolated and often dangerous position: The rising floodwaters marooned us on top of the house.
  3. to abandon and leave without aid or resources: Having lost all his money, he was marooned in the strange city.
—n.
  1. (often cap) any of a group of blacks, descended from fugitive slaves of the 17th and 18th centuries, living in the West Indies and Guiana, esp. in mountainous areas.
  2. a person who is marooned: Robinson Crusoe lived for years as a maroon.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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