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

Nature protects history and human life Inside the remarkable medieval settlement, archaeologists found moats, remains of buildings, and artifacts, 244 to be exact, including 66 knives, sickles, iron coulters, arrowheads, spearheads, and personal accessories were identified, as per Heritage Daily. —Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 1 Mar. 2026

Jefferies analysts, led by Peramunetilleke, found that MongoDB’s moat could get disrupted if AI coding tools weaken database selection, leaving developers less tied to a single database architecture as switching costs decline. —Pia Singh, CNBC, 1 Mar. 2026

Install an Ant Moat Ant moats are little basins that hold water that are hung above hummingbird feeders. —Peg Aloi, The Spruce, 7 Feb. 2026

Impact on China services, capital expenditure volatility, lack of a real moat like ASML. —Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 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