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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Recent Examples of moats
Aside from all of the other obvious moats, from network effects to data security, Lin said the biggest advantage for founders today is being willing to be AI native and to move faster than competitors.
—
Leo Schwartz, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026
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
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
Funding costs, liquidity stability, capital treatment, and regulatory accountability are moats.
—Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Klein added European businesses could use AI to build wider moats, urging business leaders to take risks and the European Union to deregulate to unlock greater capital and talent.
—Tasmin Lockwood,hugh Leask, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026
Put another way, the castles of these companies' profit engines are protected by moats.
—NPR, 21 Oct. 2025
Leo Schwartz, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026
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
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
Funding costs, liquidity stability, capital treatment, and regulatory accountability are moats.
—Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Klein added European businesses could use AI to build wider moats, urging business leaders to take risks and the European Union to deregulate to unlock greater capital and talent.
—Tasmin Lockwood,hugh Leask, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026
Put another way, the castles of these companies' profit engines are protected by moats.
—NPR, 21 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moats
Noun
-
The elaborate network of rainfall, rivulets of ditches, and control structures became a sort of language for Van Lent.—
Michael Adno,
Rolling Stone,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Instead, the women and their husbands found out about the data center project from speaking directly to the workers hired to move dirt and dig runoff ditches ahead of construction.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Just offshore, Mafia Island Marine Park is home to vibrant coral reef systems and elaborate trenches ideal for diving.—
Melanie van Zyl,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Mar. 2026
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The crispy blonde beer next door earned this top seed in those trenches, but the Newport brew's big run ended in the Final Four against the eventual champ, Crazy Norse, also from Kentucky.—
Rasputin Todd,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Officials had worried that a system of dikes along the Skagit River would fail, and potentially inundate parts of Mount Vernon, a riverside town of about 35,000.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
13 Dec. 2025
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Chinese mitten crabs burrow into levees, dikes, and stream banks, increasing erosion and threatening flood-control systems.—
Staff Author Updated,
PEOPLE,
3 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Her mother, Marlene LaMar, who had helped organize hundreds of volunteers for years to search through fields and gullies after Sierra vanished in 2012, said Saturday she was too devastated to speak about the ruling.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
1 Mar. 2026
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Lazar says strong winds blew this new snow into gullies and depressions, depositing it onto older layers of snow.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
If outside, seek shelter in low-lying areas like ditches or ravines.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
6 Mar. 2026
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The area has deep ravines and dense vegetation.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Moats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moats. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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