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
But authentic leadership—grounded in genuine personal experience and expressed through strategic vulnerability—creates competitive moats that competitors cannot easily replicate.
—
Tarun Galagali, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
As for moats, OpenAI is obviously in the best position to build or strengthen one.
—Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2025
Tarun Galagali, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
As for moats, OpenAI is obviously in the best position to build or strengthen one.
—Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moats
Noun
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The district remains a throwback to the old days, much like the ancient thistle districts and thistle commissioners who were once found across Lake County in an attempt to stomp out the noxious weeds from farmlands and roadside ditches.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Aug. 2025
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Clean streams were converted into muddy ditches.—
Charles Elliott,
Outdoor Life,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Improvising an armed version to clear Russian trenches should not be an impossible technical challenge, given how easily troops in the field have attached sawn-off shotguns to drones.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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The actor has spent three days in these trenches, soaked in blood and sweat of his own making.—
Josh Wigler,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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While the new dikes are funded by the federal government, the extensive reforestation efforts are privately covered by a non-governmental organization.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Effective water bars can prevent runoff from concentrating on these lines and causing trenches and gullies to form.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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At the same time, the ravines have become junkyards, where home appliances, grocery carts, bald tires, grass clippings and autumn leaves have been dumped.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Aug. 2025
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The tracks led north and east now, angling and twisting through the timber, across ravines and small draws, avoiding parks and passes, heading generally into the wind.—
Fred C. Mercer,
Outdoor Life,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Moats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moats. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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