: 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
Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 22 Jan. 2026
Officers found Ritchie outside his vehicle, which had crashed into a ditch, and performed life-saving measures, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
—Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 21 Jan. 2026
Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 23 Jan. 2026
Take it from here and ditch the faux Zoom background.
—Miriam Schwartz, Boston Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ditch
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Noun
Six days after his disappearance, her fears were confirmed when Tim's body was found in a shallow ditch 11 miles from their home.
—Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 22 Jan. 2026
Officers found Ritchie outside his vehicle, which had crashed into a ditch, and performed life-saving measures, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
—Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 21 Jan. 2026
Verb
By 2021, however, Zhang had ditched the corporate suite for indie producing, with her first project being Catherine Hardwick’s Prisoner’s Daughter, starring Kate Beckinsale and Brian Cox and premiering in Toronto in 2022.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 23 Jan. 2026
Take it from here and ditch the faux Zoom background.
—Miriam Schwartz, Boston Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ditch
Cite this Entry
“Ditch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ditch. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.
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