Ditch

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɪtʃ/
• Rhymes: -ɪtʃ

From earlier deche, from Middle English dechen, from Old English dēcan ("to smear, plaster, daub"). More at deech.

Full definition of ditch

Verb

1. Alternative form of deech

Noun

1. Alternative form of deech

From Middle English dich, from Old English dīċ ‘trench, moat’, from Proto-Germanic *dīkaz (cf. Swedish dike, Icelandic díki, West Frisian dyk ‘dam’, Dutch dijk ‘id.’, German Teich ‘pond’), from Proto-Indo-European *dheigʷ ‘to stick, set up’ (cf. Latin fīgō ‘to affix, fasten’, Lithuanian diegti ‘to prick; plant’, dýgsti ‘to geminate, grow’). Doublet of dike.

Noun

1. 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.

Derived terms

Verb

1. (transitive) To discard or abandon.Once the sun came out we ditched our rain-gear and started a campfire.
2. (intransitive) To deliberately crash-land an airplane on the sea.When the second engine failed, the pilot was forced to ditch; their last location was just south of the Azores.
3. (intransitive) 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.
4. (intransitive) To dig ditches.Enclosure led to fuller winter employment in hedging and ditching.
5. (transitive) To dig ditches around.The soldiers ditched the tent to prevent flooding.
6. (transitive) To throw into a ditch.The engine was ditched and turned on its side.

Synonyms

• abandon
• discard
• dump
• jettison
• lose
• shed