moat
Americannoun
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a deep, wide trench, usually filled with water, surrounding the rampart of a fortified place, such as a town or a castle.
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any trench, such as one used for confining animals in a zoo.
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a competitive advantage a business has in its field.
The company's moat was reduced when the patent on the devices they sold expired.
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of moat
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English mote, from Old French: “clod, mound,” of obscure origin
Explanation
Not many houses these days have a moat — it's a trench dug outside a castle and is usually full of water. A moat means "Keep out!" You're most likely to hear about moats if you read a fairy tale or a history of medieval times. This water-filled ditch is one of the lines of defense for a castle. In the old days, it was pretty effective. If you filled the moat with a deadly fish — like a piranha — that was an even better defense. A moat is pretty much the opposite of a welcome mat.
Vocabulary lists containing moat
The One and Only Ivan
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The Roman and Byzantine Empires, Lessons 5–7
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Shouting at the Rain
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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.
Mr Moat said "nothing is working as it should" in the landscape, which has lost beavers and bison, herds of wild boar and big herbivores.
From BBC • Dec. 14, 2025
At the crown court on Monday, Judge Andrew Smith KC said it must have been clear to Ibrahim that Mr Jones was not wearing a helmet while riding his e-motorbike on Moat Lane.
From BBC • May 12, 2025
The children's literature centre at Moat Brae in Dumfries closed its doors in August with poor visitor numbers and reduced funding support being blamed.
From BBC • Oct. 25, 2024
However, even if they do so, any amount they received would come from the sale of assets - the biggest of which is Moat Brae itself - minus any costs.
From BBC • Oct. 25, 2024
If my father still lived, Moat Cailin would never have fallen.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
