Ditch
A ditch is a small to moderate depression created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches are commonly seen around farmland, especially in areas that have required drainage, such as The Fens in eastern England and much of the Netherlands.
Roadside ditches may provide a hazard to motorists and cyclists, whose vehicles may crash into them and get damaged, flipped over or stuck, especially in poor weather conditions, and in rural areas.
Ditch (noun)
A trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage.
“Digging ditches has long been considered one of the most demanding forms of manual labor.”
Ditch (noun)
alternative form of deech
Ditch (verb)
To discard or abandon.
“Once the sun came out we ditched our rain-gear and started a campfire.”
Ditch (verb)
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.”
Ditch (verb)
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.”
Ditch (verb)
To dig ditches.
“Enclosure led to fuller winter employment in hedging and ditching.”
Ditch (verb)
To dig ditches around.
“The soldiers ditched the tent to prevent flooding.”
Ditch (verb)
To throw into a ditch.
“The engine was ditched and turned on its side.”
Ditch (verb)
alternative form of deech
Swale (noun)
A low tract of moist or marshy land.
Swale (noun)
A long narrow and shallow trough between ridges on a beach, running parallel to the coastline.
Swale (noun)
A shallow troughlike depression that’s created to carry water during rainstorms or snow melts; a drainage ditch.
Swale (noun)
A shallow, usually grassy depression sloping downward from a plains upland meadow or level vegetated ridgetop.
Swale (noun)
A shallow trough dug into the land on contour (horizontally with no slope). Its purpose being to allow water time to percolate into the soil.
Swale (noun)
A gutter in a candle.
Swale (verb)
alternative form of sweal|nodot=yes(melt and waste away, or singe)