English Explanatory Dictionary

ditch

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage.
  2. A raised bank of earth and the hedgerow on top.
verb
  1. To discard or abandon.
  2. To deliberately crash-land an airplane on water.
  3. To deliberately not attend classes; to play hookey.
  4. To dig ditches.
  5. To dig ditches around.
  6. To throw into a ditch.
verb
  1. Alternative form of deech.
noun
  1. Alternative form of deech.
name
  1. The city of Calcutta.

Pronunciation

/dɪt͡ʃ/ en-us-ditch.ogg

Word forms

ditch ditches ditching ditched the Ditch

Etymology

From Middle English dich, from Old English dīċ (“trench, moat”) from Proto-Germanic *dīkaz (compare Swedish dike, Icelandic díki, West Frisian dyk (“dam”), Dutch dijk (“dam”), German Teich (“pond”)), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to stick, set up”) (compare Latin fīgō (“to affix, fasten”), Lithuanian diegti (“to prick; plant”), dýgsti (“to geminate, grow”)). Doublet of dike.

Synonyms

abandon discard dump jettison lose shed

Related words

fosse moat The Ditch rhubarb

Derived words

across the ditch bar ditch Black Ditch dead as ditch-water die in the last ditch ding-dong ditch ditch day ditchdigger ditchdigging ditcher Ditchfield ditchfinder ditch jewel ditchless ditchlet ditchlike ditchside ditch stonecrop ditchwater ditch weed Ditch Witch ditchy hurler on the ditch itch the ditch last-ditch ox is in the ditch Quidditch snitches get stitches and wind up in ditches stitch in the ditch The Ditch ditchable ditch out
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