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

In the past, a second-rate software rollout cost a company time and money but rarely sank it, since a firm with a strong moat could get by. — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026

The analysts said the data analytics company, with deep ties to the government, has built a strong moat. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026

Bloomberg’s moat is not its AI capabilities but the ability to feed high-quality financial intelligence into AI systems continuously. — Harsh Verma, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Most companies were incentivized to create defensive moats around their products once they were sold to prevent competition from replacing them. — Dan Driscoll, Foreign Affairs, 28 Sep. 2026

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