I. ditch 1 /dɪtʃ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: dic ]
a long narrow hole dug at the side of a field, road etc to hold or remove unwanted water
⇨ ↑ last-ditch
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + ditch
▪ deep/shallow
The car had become stuck in a deep ditch.
▪ a drainage ditch (=for water to drain away into)
They were digging a drainage ditch.
▪ an irrigation ditch (=taking water to fields, crops etc)
The fields were separated by irrigation ditches.
▪ an open ditch (=not covered)
The horse had to jump over an open ditch.
▪ a roadside ditch (=along the edge of a road)
His clothes were found in a roadside ditch.
■ verbs
▪ dig a ditch
Ditches were dug to prevent the river from flooding.
▪ a ditch runs along/down etc something
A muddy ditch ran along the side of the field.
II. ditch 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . [transitive] informal to stop having something because you no longer want it:
The government has ditched plans to privatise the prison.
2 . [transitive] informal to end a romantic relationship with someone:
Meg and Neil were due to marry, but she ditched him.
3 . [transitive] American English spoken informal to not go to school, a class etc when you should SYN skip British English :
Did you ditch class today?
4 . [transitive] American English spoken informal to leave someone you are with in a place without telling them you are going
5 . [intransitive and transitive] to land an aircraft in a controlled crash into water:
Two balloonists had to ditch during the race.