ditch

A ditch is a long trench or pit dug into the ground. If your lawns are always soggy, build a drainage ditch for the excess water to flow into.

A ditch can be a man-made trench, usually long and narrow, dug into the earth, or a natural ditch made by flowing water. Originally used for farming, we now use ditch for any pit in the ground. Ditch can also be a verb meaning to toss something or forsake it. You can ditch a plan that's going wrong, or a boyfriend who is misbehaving. If you make an emergency crash landing, you ditch your plane.

Primary Meanings of ditch

1.	n v	a long narrow excavation in the earth cut a trench in, as for drainage
2.	v	crash or crash-land
3.	v	forsake

Full Definitions of ditch

n a long narrow excavation in the earth

Types:: show 10 types...; hide 10 types...; drainage ditch
a ditch for carrying off excess water or sewage; irrigation ditch
a ditch to supply dry land with water artificially; ha-ha, haw-haw, sunk fence
a ditch with one side being a retaining wall; used to divide lands without defacing the landscape; trench
a ditch dug as a fortification having a parapet of the excavated earth; trench
any long ditch cut in the ground; approach trench, communication trench
a trench that provides protected passage between the rear and front lines of a defensive position; fire trench
a trench especially constructed for the delivery of small-arms fire; furrow
a long shallow trench in the ground (especially one made by a plow); fosse, moat
ditch dug as a fortification and usually filled with water; slit trench
narrow trench for shelter in battle

Type of:: excavation
a hole in the ground made by excavating

n any small natural waterway

Type of:: waterway
a navigable body of water

v cut a trench in, as for drainage

“ditch the land to drain it”

Synonyms:: trench

Type of:: dig, excavate, hollow
remove the inner part or the core of

v crash or crash-land

“ditch a car”

“ditch a plane”

Type of:: crash
cause to crash

v make an emergency landing on water

Type of:: crash land
make an emergency landing

v forsake

“ditch a lover”

Type of:: abandon, desert, desolate, forsake
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch

v throw away

Synonyms:: chuck

Type of:: abandon
forsake, leave behind

v sever all ties with, usually unceremoniously or irresponsibly

Synonyms:: dump

Type of:: get rid of, remove
dispose of