Ditch Meaning
/dɪt͡ʃ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage.
nounA raised bank of earth and the hedgerow on top.
Sentence Examples
I am afraid to jump over the ditch.
Jeff and Mia are making a last ditch effort to avoid a divorce.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He decided to ____ the boring party and go home early.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am afraid to jump over the ____.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English dich, from Old English dīċ (“trench, moat”) from Proto-Germanic *dīkaz (compare Swedish dike, Icelandic díki, West Frisian dyk (“dam”), Dutch dijk (“dam”), German Teich (“pond”)), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to stick, set up”) (compare Latin fīgō (“to affix, fasten”), Lithuanian diegti (“to prick; plant”), dýgsti (“to geminate, grow”)). Doublet of dike.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Ditches continued to be employed as the sole defensive measure at many sites even after wall building began to emerge. For example, an immense ditch varying between 15 and 20 meters in width and marked by depths of 2.5 to 3.8 meters has recently been discovered in Hubei near Sui-chou."
— 2011, Ralph D. Sawyer, Ancient Chinese Warfare, Basic Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 30:
"You flung a ditch on my vision
Of beauty, love and truth.
O stony grey soil of Monaghan
You burgled my bank of youth!"
— c. 1947, Patrick Kavanagh, “Stony Grey Soil”, Poetry Selections, in Ireland Study Abroad, University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2021, page 1:
"The original ditches were created by digging trenches, as boundaries and/or irrigation. But to the English, the ditch is the trench. Whereas in Ireland, the ditch is the raised bank of earth and the hedgerow on top. (As for the trench, where I come from that’s a sheugh)."
— 2013 October 31, Frank McNally, “When Anglophone lines get crossed”, in The Irish Times, Dublin: Irish Times Trust, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2021:
""No, instead, it just had enough power to transform me, overload, and force me to wait to change back! I had to ditch school!""
— 2005 December 2, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Friday, Dec 2, 2005:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He decided to ____ the boring party and go home early.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am afraid to jump over the ____.