moat

as in ditch
a deep, wide excavation that is usually filled with water and that goes around the walls of a place (such as a castle) to protect it from being attacked

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of moat This provides the company with a wide moat and a large recurring subscription revenue stream. Michael K. Farr, CNBC, 31 Dec. 2024 This is because the company is unlikely to command the moat and goodwill of Amazon or Microsoft as leading Big Tech companies. Gurufocus, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024 Our favorite bite of the night was a dish with Kaluga caviar served atop a buckwheat blini that floated in a moat of beurre blanc. Maddy Johnston, Axios, 4 Dec. 2024 All was peaceful until August 21, 1935, when as many as 175 rhesus monkeys escaped from their mountain, supposedly after a worker left a wooden plank over the moat that normally kept them in. Greg Daugherty, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for moat 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moat
Noun
  • In photos obtained by Metro from the scene, the white car could be seen partially underwater in a ditch while leaning to the side.
    Escher Walcott, People.com, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Trucks lost control on icy roads and went spiraling into ditches, and pileups backed up traffic on interstate highways across the Midwest.
    Nazaneen Ghaffar, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Preliminary estimates found that filling in the interstate trench would cost $2.4 billion to $3.2 billion, compared to $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion to reconfigure the freeway within its existing footprint.
    Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 17 Jan. 2025
  • In the photo, there's a line around the moon's equator that resembles the equatorial trench around the Death Star.
    Ailsa Harvey, Space.com, 17 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • This lack of collaboration is untenable in the current reality where the sea of fast-moving, stealth attackers threatens to overwhelm the dike entirely.
    Jonathan Fischbein, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
  • There’s a classic Dutch folk story about a young boy who heroically plugged a small leak in a dike with a finger, preventing a catastrophic flood by holding back the water until help arrives.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Rachel, a mother of five herself, was later found with savage injuries, stuffed into a culvert near the trail.
    Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 20 Jan. 2025
  • The printers are expected to be extremely versatile, with the army planning on using them to also build items like obstacles, protective structures, vaults, culverts, and beams.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • There’s one last ha-ha to be had: Jankie is revived and the cast participates in one last Jankie singalong!
    Nick Caruso, TVLine, 13 Oct. 2024
  • Photo: Courtesy of Unique Homestays Inside, sash windows overlook the lawn, down to the ha-ha and the curving Dart beyond, which is tidal and offers a constantly changing view.
    Jo Rodgers, Vogue, 3 May 2024
Noun
  • California’s largest fire in 2024 started when a man pushed a burning car into a ravine near Chico.
    Virginia Iglesias, The Conversation, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Advertisement Hirschfield raped Gonsalves and dumped both of the teenagers’ bodies in a ravine about 30 miles east of Davis in Sacramento County, where they were found by police three days later.
    Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Those embers can ride high winds for multiple miles to nestle in dry leaves or pine needles clogging a gutter, a wood-shingle roof, or shrubs, trees and other flammable vegetation close to a structure.
    Justin Angle, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2025
  • Once one house starts—with a spark that catches on dry leaves in a rain gutter or drifts into an attic through a vent—the fire spreads house to house.
    Elizabeth Miller, Outside Online, 12 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near moat

Cite this Entry

“Moat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moat. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

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