What are Maroons? To put ashore and abandon on a desolate island or coast byway of punishment or the like, as was done by buccaneers. To place in an isolated and often dangerous position: The rising floodwaters marooned us on top of the house. Often initial capital letter 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. A person who is marooned: Robinson Crusoe lived for years as a maroon. To put ashore on a deserted island or coast and intentionally abandon. To abandon or isolate with little hope of ready rescue or escape: The travelers were marooned by the blizzard. A fugitive Black slave in the West Indies in the 17th and18th centuries. A descendant of such a slave. A person who is marooned, as on an island. A dark reddish brown to dark purplish red.