Ditch vs. Dyke

Ditchnoun

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.’;

Dykenoun

A long, narrow hollow dug from the ground to serve as a boundary marker.

Ditchnoun

alternative form of deech

Dykenoun

(UK) A long, narrow hollow dug from the ground to conduct water.

Ditchverb

(transitive) To discard or abandon.

‘Once the sun came out we ditched our rain-gear and started a campfire.’;

Dykenoun

Any navigable watercourse.

Ditchverb

(intransitive) 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.’;

Dykenoun

Any watercourse.

Ditchverb

(intransitive) 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.’;

Dykenoun

Any small body of water.

Ditchverb

(intransitive) To dig ditches.

‘Enclosure led to fuller winter employment in hedging and ditching.’;

Dykenoun

(obsolete) Any hollow dug into the ground.

Ditchverb

(transitive) To dig ditches around.

‘The soldiers ditched the tent to prevent flooding.’;

Dykenoun

A place to urinate and defecate: an outhouse or lavatory.

Ditchverb

(transitive) To throw into a ditch.

‘The engine was ditched and turned on its side.’;

Dykenoun

(UK) An embankment formed by the creation of a ditch.

Ditchverb

alternative form of deech

Dykenoun

(obsolete) A city wall.

Ditchnoun

A trench made in the earth by digging, particularly a trench for draining wet land, for guarding or fencing inclosures, or for preventing an approach to a town or fortress. In the latter sense, it is called also a moat or a fosse.

Dykenoun

A low embankment or stone wall serving as an enclosure and boundary marker.

Ditchnoun

Any long, narrow receptacle for water on the surface of the earth.

Dykenoun

Any fence or hedge.

Ditchverb

To dig a ditch or ditches in; to drain by a ditch or ditches; as, to ditch moist land.

Dykenoun

(UK) An earthwork raised to prevent inundation of low land by the sea or flooding rivers.

Ditchverb

To surround with a ditch.

Dykenoun

Any impediment, barrier, or difficulty.

Ditchverb

To throw into a ditch; as, the engine was ditched and turned on its side.

Dykenoun

(UK) A beaver's dam.

Ditchverb

To dig a ditch or ditches.

Dykenoun

A jetty; a pier.

Ditchnoun

a long narrow excavation in the earth

Dykenoun

(UK) A raised causeway.

Ditchnoun

any small natural waterway

Dykenoun

A fissure in a rock stratum filled with intrusive rock; a fault.

Ditchverb

forsake;

‘ditch a lover’;

Dykenoun

A body of rock (usually igneous) originally filling a fissure but now often rising above the older stratum as it is eroded away.

Ditchverb

throw away;

‘Chuck these old notes’;

Dykenoun

A lesbian, particularly one with masculine or macho traits or behavior.

Ditchverb

sever all ties with, usually unceremoniously or irresponsibly;

‘The company dumped him after many years of service’; ‘She dumped her boyfriend when she fell in love with a rich man’;

Dykeverb

To dig, particularly to create a ditch.

Ditchverb

make an emergency landing on water

Dykeverb

To surround with a ditch, to entrench.

Ditchverb

crash or crash-land;

‘ditch a car’; ‘ditch a plane’;

Dykeverb

To surround with a low dirt or stone wall.

Ditchverb

cut a trench in, as for drainage;

‘ditch the land to drain it’; ‘trench the fields’;

Dykeverb

To raise a protective earthwork against a sea or river.

Ditch

A ditch is a small to moderate divot 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.

Dykeverb

To scour a watercourse.

Dykeverb

To steep [fibers] within a watercourse.

Dykenoun

See Dike. The spelling dyke is restricted by some to the geological meaning.

Dykenoun

offensive terms for a lesbian who is noticeably masculine

Dykenoun

a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea

Dykeverb

enclose with a dike;

‘dike the land to protect it from water’;