Definition

1. Noun:

   • A long narrow channel or trench dug in the ground: Typically used for drainage, irrigation, or as a boundary marker.
   • A natural watercourse: A small, often shallow, channel formed by water flow.

2. Verb:

   • To dig or make a ditch: To create a long, narrow trench in the earth.
   • To get rid of or abandon something/someone: To discard or end a relationship with someone or something in a sudden or unceremonious way.
   • To make a forced landing (in an aircraft): To bring an aircraft down, especially in an emergency, on land or water.
   • To discard or throw away: To get rid of something unwanted.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The farmer dug a ditch to drain the water from the field.
  • The car swerved off the road and into a deep ditch.

• Verb:

  • They decided to ditch the old car and buy a new one.
  • The pilot had to ditch the plane in the ocean after engine failure.
  • We need to ditch this plan; it's not working.

Advanced Usage

• "To be driven to the last ditch": To be forced into a final, desperate situation.

  • The defenders were driven to the last ditch but refused to surrender.

• "To die in the last ditch": To fight until the very end; to resist absolutely.

  • He vowed to die in the last ditch defending his principles.

Variants and Related Words

• Ditching (gerund/noun): The act of abandoning or making an emergency landing.

  • The ditching of the aircraft was executed flawlessly.

• Ditched (adjective): Describing something that has been abandoned or discarded.

  • We found a ditched car on the side of the road.

Synonyms

• Noun: Trench, channel, gully, moat, furrow.
• Verb (abandon): Discard, dump, jettison, forsake, desert.
• Verb (dig): Excavate, trench, gouge.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Ditch" is not commonly used with particles to form phrasal verbs. Its meanings are typically conveyed directly.)

Related Idioms

• "Last-ditch effort/stand": A final attempt made in a desperate situation.
  • Making a public appeal was a last-ditch effort to save the business.

Noun

1. any small natural waterway
2. a long narrow excavation in the earth

Verb

1. cut a trench in, as for drainage
   • ditch the land to drain it
   • trench the fields
2. crash or crash-land
   • ditch a car
   • ditch a plane
3. make an emergency landing on water
4. sever all ties with, usually unceremoniously or irresponsibly
   • The company dumped him after many years of service
   • She dumped her boyfriend when she fell in love with a rich man
5. throw away
   • Chuck these old notes
6. forsake
   • ditch a lover