Added 9 October 2026
ditch
/dɪt͡ʃ/ noun
In Latin: fossa, canālis, scrobis Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about ditch at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
verb
-
To discard or abandon; to stop associating with (someone).
Once the sun came out we ditched our rain-gear and started a campfire.
-
To deliberately crash-land an airplane on water.
When the second engine failed, the pilot was forced to ditch; their last location was just south of the Azores.
-
To deliberately not attend classes; to play hookey.
The truant officer caught Louise ditching with her friends, and her parents were forced to pay a fine.
verb
- Alternative form of deech.
noun
- Alternative form of deech.
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)