ditch

American  

[dich] / dɪtʃ /

noun

1. a long, narrow excavation made in the ground by digging, as for draining or irrigating land; trench.

2. any open passage or trench, as a natural channel or waterway.

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verb (used with object)

1. to dig a ditch or ditches in or around.

2. to derail (a train) or drive or force (an automobile, bus, etc.) into a ditch.

3. to crash-land on water and abandon (an airplane).

4. Slang.

   1. to get rid of.

      I ditched that old hat of yours.

   2. to escape from.

      He ditched the cops by driving down an alley.

   3. to absent oneself from (school or a class) without permission or an acceptable reason.

verb (used without object)

1. to dig a ditch.

2. (of an aircraft or its crew) to crash-land in water and abandon the sinking aircraft.

3. Slang.  to be truant; play hooky.

ditch ¹ British  

/ dɪtʃ /

noun

1. a narrow channel dug in the earth, usually used for drainage, irrigation, or as a boundary marker

2. any small, natural waterway

3. a bank made of earth excavated from and placed alongside a drain or stream

4. informal  either of the gutters at the side of a tenpin bowling lane

5. a last resort or place of last defence

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verb

1. to make a ditch or ditches in (a piece of ground)

2. (intr) to edge with a ditch

3. informal  to crash or be crashed, esp deliberately, as to avoid more unpleasant circumstances

   he had to ditch the car

4. slang  (tr) to abandon or discard

   to ditch a girlfriend

5. informal  to land (an aircraft) on water in an emergency

6. slang  (tr) to evade

   to ditch the police

Ditch ² British  

/ dɪtʃ /

noun

1. an informal name for the Tasman Sea

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ditch Idioms  

1. see last-ditch effort.

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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

Nvidia, Apple, and Google owner Alphabet slip as investors begin December by ditching tech stocks.

From Barron's

Circular and rectangular ditches, drainage channels, raised planting platforms, and clusters of mounds create a complex network designed for water control and cultivation.

From Science Daily

Likewise, rising voter concern about food prices has led to tariffs on imports of coffee, bananas and some beef being ditched.

From The Wall Street Journal

Getting there by car involved a treacherous 10-hour drive past trucks with their noses down in ditches.

From The Wall Street Journal

The eldest of seven children born to a prospector-turned-rancher, Jeannette dug ditches, raised barns and split wood alongside the ranch hands.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• abandon
• discard
• dispose of
• dump
• forsake
• jettison
• junk
• scrap