moats

noun

plural of moat
as in ditches
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 moats While competitors such as Thermo Fisher Scientific and Sartorius are investing heavily to gain share, Danaher's position is protected by one of the strongest moats in healthcare tools. — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 16 July 2026 The multi-billion-dollar market capitalizations of the top five on the list are driven by highly defensible business models, massive capital moats (as analysts describe them), and structural advantages within the freight sector. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 8 July 2026 The most effective moats are compounding systems, whe​re each defense makes every other one more durable. — Anil Chintapalli, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026 Proprietary data, specialised hardware, scientific expertise and difficult-to-reproduce infrastructure are becoming durable moats. — Carl Fritjofsson, Fortune, 19 June 2026 Install an Ant Moat Ant moats are little basins that hold water that are hung below hummingbird feeders. — Peg Aloi, The Spruce, 4 June 2026 In Latin America stadiums have been constructed with anti-hooligan architecture such as high fencing and moats. — Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moats
  1. ditches
  2. trenches
  3. dikes
  4. gullies
  5. ravines
Noun
  • Some propose walls and ditches to keep people from migrating.
    — Cristina Dorador, The Dial, 14 July 2026
  • But the gold seekers, the ‘49ers, immediately set to digging ditches and canals to divert water, and so the new state soon allowed that practice, too.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
Definition of ditches
Noun
  • French authorities wanted to honor the ‘’blood spilled″ during WWI by Muslim soldiers who died in trenches of Verdun and beyond to defend France, Hafiz said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 July 2026
  • Ninety-five episodes later, Arthur was back in the acting trenches again.
    — Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 17 July 2026
Definition of trenches
Noun
  • As the dikes spread, the region faced earthquakes and brought back into action long dormant faults, draining the magma beneath the ridge.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 9 July 2026
  • City officials warned residents in the vicinity of the dikes to prepare to evacuate.
    — Kansas City Public Library staff, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026
Definition of dikes
Noun
  • The dark form of the bear was rounding the ridges and gullies, appearing and disappearing among the brush in the direction of the head of the canyon.
    — Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 15 July 2026
  • Scott Gordon, chief of water enforcement for EPA’s regional office at the time, toured the site in 2000 and said he was shocked by how the industrial water found its path into the river, sometimes through gullies cut by the flow.
    — DYLAN JACKSON, ABC News, 6 May 2026
Definition of gullies
Noun
  • The gardens were developed in the 1930s on a site featuring natural ravines, now crossed by suspension bridges and laced with trails.
    — Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 23 June 2026
  • The face of the moon never looks the same from one night to the next, as the shifting angle between the moon and sun causes sunlight to sweep across its surface, altering the shadows cast by craters, mountain ranges and ravines.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 23 May 2026
Definition of ravines

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Cite this Entry

“Moats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moats. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of moats for Spanish Speakers

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