Meaning of "ditch" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD DITCH

Old English dīc; related to Old Saxon dīk, Old Norse dīki, Middle High German tīch dyke, pond, Latin fīgere to stick, see dyke1.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF DITCH

ditch  [dɪtʃ]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF DITCH

Ditch is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb ditch in English.

WHAT DOES DITCH MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Ditch

A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel water. In Anglo-Saxon, the word dïc already existed and was pronounced "deek" in northern England and "deetch" in the south. The origins of the word lie in digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank alongside it. This practice has meant that the name dïc was given to either the excavation or the bank, and evolved to both the words "dike"/"dyke" and "ditch". Thus Offa's Dyke is a combined structure and Car Dyke is a trench, though it once had raised banks as well. In the midlands and north of England, and in the United States, a dike is what a ditch is in the south, a property boundary marker or small drainage channel. Where it carries a stream, it may be called a running dike as in Rippingale Running Dike, which leads water from the catchwater drain, Car Dyke, to the South Forty Foot Drain in Lincolnshire. The Weir Dike is a soak dike in Bourne North Fen, near Twenty and alongside the River Glen.

Definition of ditch in the English dictionary

The first definition of ditch in the dictionary is a narrow channel dug in the earth, usually used for drainage, irrigation, or as a boundary marker. Other definition of ditch is any small, natural waterway. Ditch is also a bank made of earth excavated from and placed alongside a drain or stream.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO DITCH

PRESENT

Present

I ditch

you ditch

he/she/it ditches

we ditch

you ditch

they ditch

Present continuous

I am ditching

you are ditching

he/she/it is ditching

we are ditching

you are ditching

they are ditching

Present perfect

I have ditched

you have ditched

he/she/it has ditched

we have ditched

you have ditched

they have ditched

Present perfect continuous

I have been ditching

you have been ditching

he/she/it has been ditching

we have been ditching

you have been ditching

they have been ditching

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I ditched

you ditched

he/she/it ditched

we ditched

you ditched

they ditched

Past continuous

I was ditching

you were ditching

he/she/it was ditching

we were ditching

you were ditching

they were ditching

Past perfect

I had ditched

you had ditched

he/she/it had ditched

we had ditched

you had ditched

they had ditched

Past perfect continuous

I had been ditching

you had been ditching

he/she/it had been ditching

we had been ditching

you had been ditching

they had been ditching

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will ditch

you will ditch

he/she/it will ditch

we will ditch

you will ditch

they will ditch

Future continuous

I will be ditching

you will be ditching

he/she/it will be ditching

we will be ditching

you will be ditching

they will be ditching

Future perfect

I will have ditched

you will have ditched

he/she/it will have ditched

we will have ditched

you will have ditched

they will have ditched

Future perfect continuous

I will have been ditching

you will have been ditching

he/she/it will have been ditching

we will have been ditching

you will have been ditching

they will have been ditching

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would ditch

you would ditch

he/she/it would ditch

we would ditch

you would ditch

they would ditch

Conditional continuous

I would be ditching

you would be ditching

he/she/it would be ditching

we would be ditching

you would be ditching

they would be ditching

Conditional perfect

I would have ditch

you would have ditch

he/she/it would have ditch

we would have ditch

you would have ditch

they would have ditch

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been ditching

you would have been ditching

he/she/it would have been ditching

we would have been ditching

you would have been ditching

they would have been ditching

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you ditch
we let´s ditch
you ditch

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to ditch

Past participle

ditched

Present Participle

ditching

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «DITCH»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «ditch» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of ditch

abandon · axe · bin · channel · chuck · conduit · desert · discard · drain · drop · dump · dyke · forsake · furrow · get rid of · gully · gutter · jettison · jilt · junk · leave · moat · scrap · trench · trough · walk out on · watercourse

TRANSLATION OF DITCH

Find out the translation of ditch to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of ditch from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «ditch» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 小沟
• Translator English - Spanish: cuneta
• English: ditch
• Translator English - Hindi: खाई
• Translator English - Arabic: خَنْدَق
• Translator English - Russian: кювет
• Translator English - Portuguese: fosso
• Translator English - Bengali: dital
• Translator English - French: fossé
• Translator English - Malay: Dital
• Translator English - German: Graben
• Translator English - Japanese: 溝
• Translator English - Korean: 수로
• Translator English - Javanese: Dital
• Translator English - Vietnamese: mương
• Translator English - Tamil: dital
• Translator English - Marathi: डगल
• Translator English - Turkish: dital
• Translator English - Italian: fosso
• Translator English - Polish: rów
• Translator English - Ukrainian: рів
• Translator English - Romanian: șanț
• Translator English - Greek: χαντάκι
• Translator English - Afrikaans: sloot
• Translator English - Swedish: dike
• Translator English - Norwegian: grøft

10 QUOTES WITH «DITCH»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word ditch.

1

Paul Thomas Anderson

Acting is the hardest job in the entire world. By far. Harder than ditch digging.

2

David Axelrod

We don't want to go back to the same policies and the same practices that drove our economy into a ditch, that punished the middle class, and that led us to this catastrophe. We have to keep moving forward.

3

Tallulah Bankhead

I have three phobias which, could I mute them, would make my life as slick as a sonnet, but as dull as ditch water: I hate to go to bed, I hate to get up, and I hate to be alone.

4

Rachel Bilson

It's important not to ditch your mates when you're in a relationship. Lots of girls do it, but you need to remember they will always be there for you.

5

Greg Brenneman

It's hard for the same people who put you in the ditch to pull you out of it.

6

Dan Buettner

Inconvenience yourself: ditch the remote, the garage door opener, the leaf-blower; buy a bike, broom, rake, and snow shovel.

7

Ty Cobb

I had to fight all my life to survive. They were all against me... but I beat the bastards and left them in the ditch.

8

Calvin Coolidge

If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.

9

Kieran Culkin

The Professional Children's School, it's for professional kids, so if you wanted to ditch, you could just write, Audition on a note and leave. I didn't really like school all that much.

10

Fefe Dobson

I'm one of those people that I make a song... then I write another song and then I'm like, 'But this song is so much better than this song,' and then I kind of ditch that song. It's a long process.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «DITCH»

Discover the use of ditch in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to ditch and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Do It! or Ditch It

In eight simple steps, Bev's down-to-earth Do It or Ditch It approach teaches you how to make clear decisions from the outset so that at every step along the way, you will be more likely to succeed.

Bev James, 2011

Time in the Ditch: American Philosophy and the McCarthy Era

Explores the damaging effects of McCarthyism on American philosophy during the 1940s and 1950s.

John McCumber, 2001

Ditch that Jerk: Dealing with Men who Control and Hurt Women

A gritty, hard-hitting guide to turning an extra-nasty man into anto ex-boyfriend or ex-husband uses examples from the author's counseling sessions to illustrate the patterns an abusive male and shows women how to spot the danger signs.

Pamela Jayne, 2000

Ditch

Stark and imperative, but shot through with a sense of warm humanity, Beth Steel's debut playDitch is a clear-eyed look at how we might behave when the conveniences of our civilisation are taken away, and a frightening vision of a future ...

Beth Steel, 2010

The Big Ditch: How America Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately ...

A remarkable tale, The Big Ditch offers vital lessons about the impact of large-scale infrastructure projects, American overseas interventions on institutional development, and the ability of governments to run companies effectively.

Noel Maurer, Carlos Yu, 2010

Ditch the Weight and Gain Your Life

DITCH THE WEIGHT AND GAIN YOUR LIFE is a compelling reformulation of century old basic principles that helps your body detoxify, removing wastes, toxins and fats from your body.

Leah Marmulla, 2008

How to Ditch Your Fairy

If you lived in a world where everyone had a personal fairy, what kind would you want?

Justine Larbalestier, 2010

Ditch

Ditch is a sudden stumble into an instantly recognizable, constantly shifting, unforgettable world where everything happens through the filters of memory and modems. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Hal Niedzviecki, 2011

Laughing Kitbags

The times you do not get to read about in everyday newspapers! I, like so many others have many a dit to tell and I, like many others tell these stories over & over again.

Ian Ditch, 2010

The Mother Ditch: How Water Came to a New Mexico Town

Describes the summer the mother ditch went dry, a time of crisis for the Romero family, who grow fruits and vegetables by irrigation in the dry Cerrito region of New Mexico.

Oliver La Farge, 1983

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «DITCH»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term ditch is used in the context of the following news items.

Slew of amendments hamper South Carolina push to ditch …

Representative Mike Pitts has proposed dozens of flag-related amendments, including whether to plant flowers where the flagpole that ... «The Guardian, Jul 15»

Hatred vs. history: Tucson debates whether to ditch Confederate flag

Hatred vs. history: Tucson debates whether to ditch Confederate flag. Saved. Save Article; My Saved Items · Print Email. Respond: Write a letter ... «Arizona Daily Star, Jul 15»

Three big sports names ditch Trump, 'The Donald' shrugs

ESPN, PGA, and NASCAR are the latest entities to distance themselves from the Trump brand. But don't feel sorry for him, he says. «Christian Science Monitor, Jul 15»

Ditch the EU - bring back the Hanseatic League

I think it is time to put into effect my plan for the re-shaping of the European Union. A somewhat scaled-down European Union: Greece wouldn't ... «Spectator.co.uk, Jul 15»

BMW to ditch manuals, limit power: report

The German car maker has told English publication Autocar that it may soon ditch manual transmissions and limit power outputs to 450kW, as it ... «Stuff.co.nz, Jul 15»

WALTHOURVILLE Ga. (WJCL) -- The Walthourville Volunteer Fire …

The women used the ladder to shimmy across the ditch into the arms of rescue personnel waiting on the ground for them. Satterfield said in his ... «WJCL News, Jul 15»

Greek Debt Crisis: Greece Submits Last-Ditch Bailout Request As …

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his government are hoping to score continued bailout funding late in the fourth quarter of eurozone ... «International Business Times, Jul 15»

3 rescued after car flipped sideways into ditch

The women used the ladder to shimmy across the ditch into the arms of rescue personnel waiting on the ground for them. Satterfield said in his ... «WJCL News, Jul 15»

Man United News: Last-ditch Schneiderlin talks, £12m striker deal …

Manchester United have sent an Old Trafford official to Southampton in an attempt to seal a deal for Southampton star Morgan Schneiderlin ... «Express.co.uk, Jul 15»

Latest Partner to Ditch Trump Could Face Massive Lawsuit

World renowned Washington DC-based chef Jose Andres told the Washington Post Wednesday that he is backing out of a deal to open the ... «White House Dossier, Jul 15»