fosse
noun
a moat or defensive ditch in a fortification, usually filled with water.
fosse
1 American
[fos, faws]
/ fɒs, fɔs /
Or
foss
noun
-
a moat or defensive ditch in a fortification, usually filled with water.
-
any ditch, trench, or canal.
Fosse
2
American
[fos-ee]
/ ˈfɒs i /
noun
fosse
British
/ fɒs /
noun
Etymology
Origin of fosse
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French < Latin fossa fossa 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.
See Examples For:
There was a road paved with white stone running on the outer brink of the fosse.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Beyond it was a deep fosse lost in soft shadow, but the grass upon its brink was green, as if it glowed still in memory of the sun that had gone.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Warton, in his Account of Kiddington, Oxon, p. 62., edition 1815, observes that Stukeley describes a fosse called Grimsditch, near Ditchley House, between Stunsfield and Chipping Norton, the vallum of which was eastward.
The order was instantly obeyed, and the door afloat in the fosse, and springing upon it, he impelled himself with a pike towards the opposite bank.
From Guy Fawkes or The Gunpowder Treason by William Harrison Ainsworth
The fosse surrounding the fortress was thirty-six feet wide, and was pierced in the solid rock to a depth of forty-three feet.
From The History of the Knights Templars, the Temple Church, and the Temple by Charles G. Addison
They now have a small staff, an office in Oakland and count a Nobel Prizewinner, Jon Fosse, among their authors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Left to talk, Jacobs whirls through stories of past, present and future: anecdotes about his grandmother planning her lunch spot around which department store she’d spend the day at, and memories of Bob Fosse films.
From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2026
Bob Fosse completists need to see it; it was the “All That Jazz” director’s final movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
When forced by Pozzo to dance, Mr. Thornton merely doffs his bowler hat rhythmically a few times in a funny nod to Bob Fosse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2025
As directed by Bob Fosse on Broadway, the dancing was raucous, and the themes—Pippin’s relationships with multiple women, his struggles with authority and the church—were overtly presented.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
