ditch

/dɪtʃ/

/dɪtʃ/

Other forms: ditches; ditched; ditching

A ditch is a long trench or pit dug into the ground. If your lawns are always soggy, build a drainage ditch for the excess water to flow into.

A ditch can be a man-made trench, usually long and narrow, dug into the earth, or a natural ditch made by flowing water. Originally used for farming, we now use ditch for any pit in the ground. Ditch can also be a verb meaning to toss something or forsake it. You can ditch a plan that's going wrong, or a boyfriend who is misbehaving. If you make an emergency crash landing, you ditch your plane.

Definitions of ditch

1. noun

   a long narrow excavation in the earth
   types:

   drainage ditch

   a ditch for carrying off excess water or sewage

   irrigation ditch

   a ditch to supply dry land with water artificially

   ha-ha, haw-haw, sunk fence

   a ditch with one side being a retaining wall; used to divide lands without defacing the landscape

   trench

   a ditch dug as a fortification having a parapet of the excavated earth

   trench

   any long ditch cut in the ground

   approach trench, communication trench

   a trench that provides protected passage between the rear and front lines of a defensive position

   fire trench

   a trench especially constructed for the delivery of small-arms fire

   furrow

   a long shallow trench in the ground (especially one made by a plow)

   fosse, moat

   ditch dug as a fortification and usually filled with water

   slit trench

   narrow trench for shelter in battle

   type of:

   excavation

   a hole in the ground made by excavating
2. noun

   any small natural waterway
   type of:

   waterway

   a navigable body of water
3. verb

   cut a trench in, as for drainage
   “ditch the land to drain it”

   synonyms: trench

   type of:

   dig, excavate, hollow

   remove the inner part or the core of
4. verb

   crash or crash-land
   “ditch a car”

   “ditch a plane”

   type of:

   crash

   cause to crash
5. verb

   make an emergency landing on water
   type of:

   crash land

   make an emergency landing
6. verb

   forsake
   type of:

   abandon, desert, desolate, forsake

   leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
7. verb

   throw away
   synonyms: chuck

   type of:

   abandon

   forsake; leave behind
8. verb

   sever all ties with, usually unceremoniously or irresponsibly
   synonyms: dump

   type of:

   get rid of, remove

   dispose of