moat

noun

ˈmōt 

1

: a deep and wide trench around the rampart of a fortified place (such as a castle) that is usually filled with water

The moat can be crossed by a drawbridge.

2

: a channel resembling a moat (as about a seamount or for confinement of animals in a zoo)

A Bengal tiger stared at me from across the moat.

moated

ˈmō-təd 

adjective

moatlike

ˈmōt-ˌlīk 

adjective

Illustration of moat

• moat 1

Examples of moat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Monness Crespi Hardt & Co initiates Circle as buy Monness said Circle has a wide moat. —Michael Bloom, CNBC, 10 Nov. 2025

Dan Romanoff, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, wrote in a Tuesday note that the firm maintains its fair value estimate of $560 per share for wide-moat Adobe and sees shares as attractively valued. —Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2025

But when a mother (Olivia Horton) throws her toddler into a moat surrounding an enclosure full of prowling lions at the zoo, puzzle pieces come together like a satanic symbol. —Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025

Put another way, the castles of these companies' profit engines are protected by moats. —NPR, 21 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English mote, from Anglo-French mote, motte mound, moat

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for moat

• bloat
• boat
• choate
• coat
• cote
• dote
• float
• gloat
• goat
• groat
• haute
• mote

Kids Definition

moat

noun

ˈmōt 

: a deep wide trench around the walls of a castle or fortress that is usually filled with water