ditch

[dich] /dɪtʃ/
noun
1.
a long, narrow excavation made in the ground by digging, as for draining or irrigating land; trench.
2.
any open passage or trench, as a natural channel or waterway.
verb (used with object)
3.
to dig a ditch or ditches in or around.
4.
to derail (a train) or drive or force (an automobile, bus, etc.) into a ditch.
5.
to crash-land on water and abandon (an airplane).
6.
Slang.
  1. to get rid of:
    I ditched that old hat of yours.
  2. to escape from:
    He ditched the cops by driving down an alley.
  3. to absent oneself from (school or a class) without permission or an acceptable reason.
verb (used without object)
7.
to dig a ditch.
8.
(of an aircraft or its crew) to crash-land in water and abandon the sinking aircraft.
9.
Slang. to be truant; play hooky.
Origin
before 900; 1940-45 for def 5, 1885-90 for def 6, 1955-60 for def 9; Middle English dich, Old English dīc; cognate with German Teich. See dike1
Related forms
ditchless, adjective
Examples from the web for ditch
  • Build a ditch along the road and you end up with a wetlands with a whole new ecosystem.
  • Often barely three feet wide and half that deep, the lowly acequia is a hand-dug, lovingly maintained ditch.
  • To ensure good drainage, mark off rows and ditch between them to form planting ridges.
  • Next time you take the kids out for breakfast at your local greasy spoon, ditch the paper football.
  • Emma announced repeatedly that if reality began to usurp the ideal, she would ditch reality in less than a second.
  • He should learn from that small victory and be more willing to ditch the policies of the past.
  • ditch that sunscreen that is making the sunscreen manufacturers wealthy.
  • ditch the lovely waifs for an episode and see some truly practical design.
  • In short, it's an ideal way to finally ditch boring old paper from your life.
  • Sign, but if the better job comes up, take it and ditch the adjunct gig.
British Dictionary definitions for ditch

ditch

/dɪtʃ/
noun
1.
a narrow channel dug in the earth, usually used for drainage, irrigation, or as a boundary marker
2.
any small, natural waterway
3.
(Irish) a bank made of earth excavated from and placed alongside a drain or stream
4.
(informal) either of the gutters at the side of a tenpin bowling lane
5.
last ditch, a last resort or place of last defence
verb
6.
to make a ditch or ditches in (a piece of ground)
7.
(intransitive) to edge with a ditch
8.
(informal) to crash or be crashed, esp deliberately, as to avoid more unpleasant circumstances: he had to ditch the car
9.
(transitive) (slang) to abandon or discard: to ditch a girlfriend
10.
(informal) to land (an aircraft) on water in an emergency
11.
(transitive) (US, slang) to evade: to ditch the police
Derived Forms
ditcher, noun
ditchless, adjective
Word Origin
Old English dīc; related to Old Saxon dīk, Old Norse dīki, Middle High German tīch dyke, pond, Latin fīgere to stick, see dyke1

Ditch

/dɪtʃ/
noun (NZ)
1.
the Ditch, an informal name for the Tasman Sea
Word Origin and History for ditch
n.

Old English dic "ditch, dike," a variant of dike (q.v.). Last ditch (1715) refers to the last line of military defenses.

v.

late 14c., "surround with a ditch; dig a ditch;" from ditch (n.). Meaning "to throw into a ditch" is from 1816, hence sense of "abandon, discard," first recorded 1899 in American English. Of aircraft, by 1941. Related: Ditched; ditching.

Slang definitions & phrases for ditch

ditch

verb
  1. To dispose of; get rid of; chuck: We'll ditch this Greek and blow (1900+)
  2. To land an aircraft on the water in an emergency (1940s+)
  3. To play truant; fail to go to school or to a class (1920s+)

Ditch

Related Terms

the big ditch


Idioms and Phrases with ditch

ditch

see: last-ditch effort