ditch
Americannoun
-
a long, narrow excavation made in the ground by digging, as for draining or irrigating land; trench.
-
any open passage or trench, as a natural channel or waterway.
verb (used with object)
-
to dig a ditch or ditches in or around.
-
to derail (a train) or drive or force (an automobile, bus, etc.) into a ditch.
-
to crash-land on water and abandon (an airplane).
-
Slang.
-
to get rid of.
I ditched that old hat of yours.
-
to escape from.
He ditched the cops by driving down an alley.
-
to absent oneself from (school or a class) without permission or an acceptable reason.
-
verb (used without object)
-
to dig a ditch.
-
(of an aircraft or its crew) to crash-land in water and abandon the sinking aircraft.
-
Slang. to be truant; play hooky.
noun
-
a narrow channel dug in the earth, usually used for drainage, irrigation, or as a boundary marker
-
any small, natural waterway
-
a bank made of earth excavated from and placed alongside a drain or stream
-
informal either of the gutters at the side of a tenpin bowling lane
-
a last resort or place of last defence
verb
-
to make a ditch or ditches in (a piece of ground)
-
(intr) to edge with a ditch
-
informal to crash or be crashed, esp deliberately, as to avoid more unpleasant circumstances
he had to ditch the car
-
slang (tr) to abandon or discard
to ditch a girlfriend
-
informal to land (an aircraft) on water in an emergency
-
slang (tr) to evade
to ditch the police
noun
Other Word Forms
- ditcher noun
- ditchless adjective
Etymology
Origin of ditch
before 900; 1940–45 ditch for def. 5, 1885–90 ditch for def. 6, 1955–60 ditch for def. 9; Middle English dich, Old English dīc; cognate with German Teich. See dike 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A fortnight after searches began, the youngsters' bodies were found in a ditch about 10 miles away, near RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.
From BBC
It comes a day after Washington and Tehran held talks widely seen as a last ditch effort to avoid a war over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
From BBC
But the zero emissions vehicles are now being ditched, along with the ambition that 700 jobs could be created.
From BBC
Futures tracking the S&P 500 were 0.2% lower, as investors carried on ditching risk assets.
From Barron's
The doomsday scenario envisions businesses ditching legacy systems and consumers turning over many of their tasks to AI “agents” almost overnight.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
