ditch
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ditch¹
- /dɪt͡ʃ/
Rhymes with -ɪtʃ
Where it comes from
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.
noun ditches
- A trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage. Digging ditches has long been considered one of the most demanding forms of manual labor.
- A raised bank of earth and the hedgerow on top. You flung a ditch on my vision Of beauty, love and truth. O stony grey soil of Monaghan You burgled my bank of youth!
verb ditches · ditching · ditched
-
To discard or abandon; to stop associating with (someone).
Once the sun came out we ditched our rain-gear and started a campfire.
Similar: abandon, desert, discard, dump, jettison, leave, lose, forsake, quit, shed, strand · Opposite: stand by, stick by
-
To deliberately crash-land an airplane on water.
When the second engine failed, the pilot was forced to ditch; their last location was just south of the Azores.
Similar: abandon, desert, discard, dump, jettison, leave, lose, forsake, quit, shed, strand · Opposite: stand by, stick by
- To deliberately not attend classes; to play hookey. The truant officer caught Louise ditching with her friends, and her parents were forced to pay a fine.
- To dig ditches. Enclosure led to fuller winter employment in hedging and ditching.
- To dig ditches around. The soldiers ditched the tent to prevent flooding.
- To throw into a ditch. The engine was ditched and turned on its side.
ditch²
- /dɪt͡ʃ/
Rhymes with -ɪtʃ
Where it comes from
From earlier deche, from Middle English dechen, from Old English dēcan (“to smear, plaster, daub”). More at deech.
verb ditches · ditching · ditched
- Alternative form of deech
noun ditches
- Alternative form of deech
Ditch³
Where it comes from
In reference to the Maratha Ditch.
proper noun the Ditch
- The city of Calcutta.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: trench, chuck, gutter, trenching, hole, pit, foxhole, trough, sludge, gulf, moat, chasm, abyss, bunker, wedge, dump
Translations
Every language
noun trench
| Español | foso, surco, zanja, trinchera, acequia, cuneta |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 도랑 dorang |
| 日本語 | 側溝 sokkō |
| 中文 | 水溝 /水沟 shuǐgōu, 溝渠 /沟渠 gōuqú, 渠 qú |
| हिन्दी | खाई khāī, नाली nālī, गड्ढा gaḍḍhā |
| Kiswahili | handaki |
| Português | fosso, trincheira, vala |
| Français | fossé, tranchée, rigole |
| Deutsch | Graben, Schanze |
| Italiano | fossato, trincea, canale, canalone, canale di scarico, affossamento |
| Ελληνικά | χαντάκι chantáki, τάφρος táfros, αυλάκι avláki |
| Română | șanț |
| Русский | кана́ва kanáva, транше́я tranšéja, ров rov, кюве́т kjuvét |
| Tiếng Việt | hào, rãnh, mương |
| العربية | خَنْدَق ḵandaq, أُخْدُود ʔuḵdūd, قَنَال qanāl, قَنَاة qanāh |
| עברית | חֲפִיר khafír, תְּעָלָה te'ala |
verb to abandon
| Español | dejar, abandonar |
|---|---|
| Français | se débarrasser de, laisser tomber, larguer, abandonner |
| Deutsch | entledigen, verlassen, wegwerfen |
| Italiano | dismettere, riporre, mettere via |
| Русский | броса́ть brosátʹ, бро́сить brósitʹ |
verb to dig ditches
| Русский | окапывать okapyvatʹ |
|---|
verb to crash-land on the sea
| Deutsch | notwassern |
|---|---|
| Italiano | ammarare |
verb to play hookey
| Português | cabular aula, matar aula |
|---|---|
| Français | faire l'école buissonnière, sécher |
| Deutsch | schwänzen |
Talk about this word "ditch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ditch. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ditch. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ditch "ditch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ditch.Cite this
@misc{ditch_2026,
title = {ditch},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ditch},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
