ditch

noun

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\ ˈdich

Definition of ditch

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a long narrow excavation dug in the earth (as for drainage)

ditch

verb

ditched; ditching; ditches

Definition of ditch (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : 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

3a : to get rid of : discard ditch an old car had to ditch their plan

b : to end association with : leave ditched school His girlfriend ditched him.

intransitive verb

1 : to dig a ditch

2 aviation : to crash-land at sea

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about ditch

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Synonyms for ditch

Synonyms: Noun

dike,
fosse
(or foss),
gutter,
sheugh
[chiefly Scottish],
trench,
trough

Synonyms: Verb

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: Noun His broker had shown him this property as a last-ditch attempt to end the artist’s long hunt for more storage space. — New York Times, "The 19th-Century Church One Artist Calls Home," 11 Feb. 2021 Though no president has been tried after departing the White House, Democrats say there is precedent, pointing to an 1876 impeachment of a secretary of war who resigned his office in a last-ditch attempt to avoid an impeachment trial. — Eric Tucker And Mary Clare Jalonick, Star Tribune, "Dems: Trump aimed 'loaded cannon' of supporters at Capitol," 2 Feb. 2021 Though no president has been tried after departing the White House, Democrats say there is precedent, pointing to an 1876 impeachment of a secretary of war who resigned his office in a last-ditch attempt to avoid an impeachment trial. — Eric Tucker, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump aimed ‘loaded cannon’ of supporters at Capitol in ‘betrayal of historic proportions,’ Democrats charge," 2 Feb. 2021 After the effort to overturn Biden's victory in Michigan was rejected by Parker, the legal team made a final last-ditch attempt and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Michigan case before the state's presidential electors convened. — Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan AG Nessel files for sanctions against attorneys in election lawsuit," 29 Jan. 2021 Two death row inmates on Thursday looked to the Supreme Court in a last-ditch attempt to prevent themselves from becoming the final Trump-era executions. — Nicholas Rowan, Washington Examiner, "Death row inmates ask Supreme Court to halt final Trump-era executions," 14 Jan. 2021 It's seen as a last-ditch attempt to rehabilitate Trump's legacy after his supporters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, resulting in five deaths including that of a Capitol Police officer. — Tribune News Service, Arkansas Online, "Trump said to plan defiant final week amid push for ouster," 11 Jan. 2021 But some of President Trump's supporters are using it as a last-ditch attempt to overturn the election results. — Caroline Linton, CBS News, "Judge dismisses Gohmert's attempt to force Pence to decide election results," 3 Jan. 2021 Limbaugh has also hailed the Texas attorney general’s lawsuit challenging voting rules in four key states that enabled Biden’s victory — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia — in a last-ditch attempt to hand the election to Trump. — Paul Farhi, Washington Post, "Secession? Rush Limbaugh floats a startling notion — then quickly backs off.," 11 Dec. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The firing also sparked some conservatives to ditch their Disney+ subscriptions. — Emma Colton, Washington Examiner, "Petition urging Disney to rehire Mandalorian actress garners more than 40,000 signatures: 'Hollywood has struck down another conservative'," 16 Feb. 2021 But while many gamers will ditch the discs, experts say that less visible tech in no way equals less damage to the planet, and that the games industry as a whole is not on a path to reducing its carbon footprint. — Cecilia D'anastasio, Wired, "Next-Gen Gaming Is an Environmental Nightmare," 15 Oct. 2020 Others will quietly ditch Q and transfer their enthusiasm to a new conspiracy theory. — New York Times, "A QAnon ‘Digital Soldier’ Marches On, Undeterred by Theory’s Unraveling," 17 Jan. 2021 Trump made his decision to ditch the climate accord on June 1 of that year. — Corbin Hiar, Scientific American, "Twitter Bots Are a Major Source of Climate Disinformation," 22 Jan. 2021 The commitment forms part of the company's sustainability goals, which include plans to ditch fossil fuels in its laundry and cleaning brands and make all 70,000 of its products biodegradable over the next decade. — Hanna Ziady, CNN, "Owner of Ben and Jerry's: We'll ensure every worker in our supply chain gets a living wage," 20 Jan. 2021 Conservative influencers like Dan Bongino encouraged their fans to ditch Twitter and follow them to Parler. — Gilad Edelman, Wired, "The Parler Bans Open a New Front in the 'Free Speech' Wars," 13 Jan. 2021 The pandemic will most likely encourage more sporting venues to require fans to ditch paper tickets and money and instead download an app from the team, the stadium or Ticketmaster. — Brenna Murphy, New York Times, "Tech Predictions for 2021," 4 Jan. 2021 The school board unanimously passed a resolution in 2018 to create a panel to examine the historical figures our schools are named for and recommend which ones to keep or ditch. — Heather Knight, SFChronicle.com, "Effort to rename S.F. schools could have been history lesson, but it placed politics over learning," 12 Jan. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ditch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.