moat

noun

Definition of moatnext
as in ditch
a deep, wide excavation that is usually filled with water and that goes around the walls of a place (such as a castle) to protect it from being attacked

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of moat 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 Hundreds of British troops crisscrossed fields with thousands of metres of razor wire and dug a long ditch that was later partially filled with water to act as a moat to keep the Protestant marchers away from the Catholic enclave. — Amanda Ferguson Reuters, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026 Its towering, mostly unbroken face and narrow swimming pool suggested a rampart and a moat, but behind the concrete exterior, Caland eliminated every door save the guest bathroom. — Tara Anne Dalbow, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026 Some social media users have wondered whether the castle has a Medieval-style dungeon, while others have fantasized about adding a moat. — Jessica Alvarado Gamez, Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for moat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moat
  1. ditch
  2. trench
  3. dike
  4. culvert
  5. ha-ha
  6. ravine
  7. gutter
Noun
  • Those risks can include operating heavy mowing equipment and having to navigate roadside ditches.
    — Susan DeGrane, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Access holders say the fence has created significant problems, including trapping wildlife and diverting water from community irrigation ditches.
    — Anna Alejo, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of ditch
Noun
  • The clothes performed a parallel operation on familiar forms, pulling apart bikers, trenches, tweed jackets, corsetry, and punk hardware before rebuilding them into funky new forms of feminine armor.
    — Vogue, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Direct water toward the bed by installing a gutter extension, creating a downhill slope, digging a trench or connecting a PVC pipe to a distant gutter and running it underground to the rain garden.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of trench
Noun
  • Chinese Nationalist forces breached the river’s dikes near Huayuankou to slow advancing Japanese troops.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Like many inland dikes, the barrier in agricultural fields near the small town of Waddinxveen, east of The Hague, is made of peat that needs to be damp to be strong enough to hold back water.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of dike
Noun
  • Investigators noticed disturbed vegetation near a large culvert about 100 yards from the truck and sent in a sheriff's K-9.
    — Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Charles Rilli, representing the Sierra Club’s San Diego chapter, and Myriam Mendoza, representing the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, also voiced support for the Saturn Boulevard box culvert project.
    — Walker Armstrong, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of culvert
Noun
  • Meanwhile, Roy and Keeley have a very cute episode as a series of funny (well, not funny-ha-ha) things happen on the way to the Chelsea Legends induction ceremony for the former football star.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Brazilian fandom is a funny thing, both in its complexity — Brazil, as one of its great cultural figures once said, is not for beginners — and in the ha-ha sense.
    — Jack Lang, New York Times, 25 June 2026
Definition of ha-ha
Noun
  • The standout among the entertaining spaces is the baby-blue kitchen, which extends from the rear of the home into a rounded turret overlooking a ravine.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Directed by Mohammed Ali Naqvi, the Sundance 2026 doc tells the story of the high-stakes rescue of six schoolboys and two adults trapped in a cable car 900 feet above a ravine in the remote Himalayan foothills of northern Pakistan.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of ravine
Noun
  • Infrastructure funding would be used to maintain pavement, curbs, gutters, alleys, bridges and culverts throughout the city.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 10 Oct. 2026
  • There are no people in her piece, simply 45 silver images of Bowery storefronts and gutters, typically littered with empty bottles.
    — J. Hoberman, ARTnews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of gutter

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moans
moat
moats
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Cite this Entry

“Moat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moat. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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