North African desert (6)
I believe the answer is:
sahara
'north african desert' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for sahara that I've seen before include "North African desert" , "World's largest sandy area" , "About 3,500,000 square miles of Africa" , "Great desert in N Africa" , "Great African desert" .)