ditch Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a long narrow excavation in the earth
  2. noun any small natural waterway
  3. verb forsake
    • ditch a lover
  4. verb throw away
    chuck.
    • Chuck these old notes
  5. verb sever all ties with, usually unceremoniously or irresponsibly
    dump.
    • The company dumped him after many years of service
    • She dumped her boyfriend when she fell in love with a rich man
  6. verb make an emergency landing on water
  7. verb crash or crash-land
    • ditch a car
    • ditch a plane
  8. verb cut a trench in, as for drainage
    trench.
    • ditch the land to drain it
    • trench the fields

WordNet

Ditch noun
Etymology
OE. dich, orig. the same word as dik. See Dike.
Wordforms
plural Ditches
Definitions
  1. A trench made in the earth by digging, particularly a trench for draining wet land, for guarding or fencing inclosures, or for preventing an approach to a town or fortress. In the latter sense, it is called also a moat or a fosse.
  2. Any long, narrow receptacle for water on the surface of the earth.
Ditch transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Ditched ; present participle & verbal noun Ditching
Definitions
  1. To dig a ditch or ditches in; to drain by a ditch or ditches; as, to ditch moist land.
  2. To surround with a ditch. Shak.
  3. To throw into a ditch; as, the engine was ditched and turned on its side.
Ditch intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To dig a ditch or ditches. Swift.

Webster 1913