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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Recent Examples of moat
PayPal's strong brand, high merchant acceptance (76% among top North American and European retailers) and focus on personalization further solidify its competitive moat.
—
Michael Khouw, CNBC, 21 July 2025
To discourage ants from returning, inspect new plants, use a sticky barrier, or create a moat.
—Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 July 2025
This reduces the ability to recoup up-front AI investments, particularly when there’s little client lock-in, no network effects, and no moat.
PolyAI chose to remain a software company, partnering with BPOs rather than acquiring them.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 27 June 2025
Another solution is to set the feeder in a shallow container of water, creating a moat that, for the most part, will prevent the ants from reaching their goal.
—Joan Morris, Mercury News, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for moat
Michael Khouw, CNBC, 21 July 2025
To discourage ants from returning, inspect new plants, use a sticky barrier, or create a moat.
—Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 July 2025
This reduces the ability to recoup up-front AI investments, particularly when there’s little client lock-in, no network effects, and no moat.
PolyAI chose to remain a software company, partnering with BPOs rather than acquiring them.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 27 June 2025
Another solution is to set the feeder in a shallow container of water, creating a moat that, for the most part, will prevent the ants from reaching their goal.
—Joan Morris, Mercury News, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for moat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moat
Noun
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Her body was found there in a nearby ditch the next morning.—
Ladan Anoushfar,
CNN Money,
6 Aug. 2025
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In a 2024 incident, both vehicles involved in a pursuit in North Dakota lost control and landed in a ditch after a deputy deployed the Grappler.—
Kathryn Kovalenko,
Twin Cities,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Construction workers dug a trench behind the building late last fall and are installing a shoring system in it.—
Jolene Almendarez,
The Enquirer,
15 July 2025
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The soldiers had spent much of the winter eighty miles to the northeast, in Belgium, in a network of trenches near the medieval town of Ypres.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
13 July 2025
Noun
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Paleomagnetic measurements allow to estimate how long magma was actively flowing in a dike.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
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The dike kept towns such as Belle Glades and Clewiston safe, and kept the crops in the vast Everglades Agricultural Area dry in summer and watered in winter.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
29 June 2025
Noun
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The swollen creek carved a path well above its banks that morning, eventually wiping out most of the road's northbound lane over the large culvert beneath it.—
Jim Riccioli,
jsonline.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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The bridge over the stormwater culvert has not yet been fixed, but the River Park was able to repair the trail washout and put in a small detour.—
Karen Billing,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
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And a big part of the scene’s effectiveness in showcasing the blend of ha-ha–bang-bang that would soon come to be called Tarantino-esque is Madsen’s take on it.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
3 July 2025
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Not ha-ha funny but rather the hard-to-define, hard-to-precisely-quantify, kind of funny, like how the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is funny.—
Seth Matlins,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
Noun
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But the armed groups that succeeded him still control huge swathes of the surrounding hills, where the Garcia ravine that claimed Sara Millerey weaves around dusty apartment blocks.—
Ladan Anoushfar,
CNN Money,
6 Aug. 2025
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Most of Camp 25 happened to be spread along the bottom of a ravine.—
Charles Pellegrino,
Rolling Stone,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Squirrels may come in under the eaves, gable vent, behind chimneys, where rooflines intersect, or between the soffit board and the rain gutter.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
1 Aug. 2025
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Take that as an excuse to finally hire someone else to clean out your gutters or hang those holiday lights.—
Rachel Nall,
SELF,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Moat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moat. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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