I. ˈmōt, usu -ōd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English mot, mote, probably from Middle French motte hill, bank, mound, from Old French mote
1. : a deep and wide trench around the rampart of a castle or other fortified place that is usually filled with water — see castle illustration
2.
a. : an artificial channel resembling a moat (as for confinement of animals in a zoo or for landscaping)
b. : a natural feature resembling a moat (as at the margin of a receding glacier, around the inner cone of a volcano, or on the sea floor at the base of a seamount or beside a coral reef)
[s]moat.jpg[/s] [
moat 1
]
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English moten, from mote, n.
: to surround with or as if with a moat