: a long narrow excavation dug in the earth (as for drainage)
ditched; ditching; ditches
1
a
: to surround with a long narrow cavity in the earth : to enclose with a ditch (see ditch entry 1)
The pasture was hedged and ditched.
b
: to dig a ditch in
2
aviation
: to make a forced landing of (an airplane) on water
successfully ditched the plane
Examples of ditch in a Sentence
Noun
He drove the car into the ditch.
after skidding on the ice, our car went right into the ditch
Verb
The thief ditched the purse in an alley.
They ditched the car in a vacant lot.
They ditched me at the concert.
Recent Examples on the Web
Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Apr. 2025
The year previous, archaeologists uncovered a large wooden phallus in a ditch at Vindolanda, first thought to be a knitting tool, McClatchy News reported.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 30 Apr. 2025
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 May 2025
In this edition…OpenAI ditches those for-profit transition plans…Google is giving children under 13 access to its chatbot…and 250 CEOs are proposing computer science and AI be required curriculum for a K-12 education.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ditch
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
If unable to reach a secure shelter, either crouch down in your car, covering your head, or abandon the vehicle and seek refuge in a low-lying area like a ditch or ravine.
—Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Apr. 2025
The year previous, archaeologists uncovered a large wooden phallus in a ditch at Vindolanda, first thought to be a knitting tool, McClatchy News reported.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 30 Apr. 2025
Verb
After ditching his family game night, Justin attends a party with his best friend Darius (Niles Fitch) and crosses paths with Keisha for the first time since elementary school.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 May 2025
In this edition…OpenAI ditches those for-profit transition plans…Google is giving children under 13 access to its chatbot…and 250 CEOs are proposing computer science and AI be required curriculum for a K-12 education.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ditch
Cite this Entry
“Ditch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ditch. Accessed 11 May. 2025.
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