: 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
Jillian Ellison, IndyStar, 28 Nov. 2025
The chase ended when the motorist's vehicle crashed into a ditch on M-65 near Leer Road in Long Rapids Township.
—Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 28 Nov. 2025
Matt Roller, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
Medora Lee Paying with cash would help businesses offset credit card processing fees that eat into their razor-thin margins, said the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA), which is asking customers to ditch plastic on Small Business Saturday.
—USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ditch
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The chase ended at the 168-mile marker on northbound I-65, Ruley said, when the car went off the highway and into a ditch on the east side of the road.
—Jillian Ellison, IndyStar, 28 Nov. 2025
The chase ended when the motorist's vehicle crashed into a ditch on M-65 near Leer Road in Long Rapids Township.
—Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 28 Nov. 2025
Verb
England staged its only day-night Test in 2017, and ditched the pink-ball rounds from the County Championship a year later.
—Matt Roller, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
Medora Lee Paying with cash would help businesses offset credit card processing fees that eat into their razor-thin margins, said the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA), which is asking customers to ditch plastic on Small Business Saturday.
—USA Today, 28 Nov. 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 1 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share