moats

noun

plural of moat
as in ditches
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

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Example 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 moats Install an Ant Moat Ant moats are little basins that hold water that are hung below hummingbird feeders. — Peg Aloi, The Spruce, 4 June 2026 In Latin America stadiums have been constructed with anti-hooligan architecture such as high fencing and moats. — Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 June 2026 Now that the fairy tale ended a long time ago, their incredible businesses, tremendous leadership, and franchises — moats — keep them a big part of the S & P 500 and the biggest part of tech, which is the biggest part of everything. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 28 June 2026 Proprietary data, specialised hardware, scientific expertise and difficult-to-reproduce infrastructure are becoming durable moats. — Carl Fritjofsson, Fortune, 19 June 2026 Key challenges involve achieving long-horizon consistency, developing robust representations, and acquiring crucial interactive data moats. — Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moats
  1. ditches
  2. trenches
  3. dikes
  4. gullies
  5. ravines
Noun
  • But the gold seekers, the ‘49ers, immediately set to digging ditches and canals to divert water, and so the new state soon allowed that practice, too.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
  • Police and fire rescue experts say this is also serves a reminder to always wear personal flotation devices in and around rivers, creeks, ditches and lakes.
    — Dillon Thomas, CBS News, 4 June 2026
Definition of ditches
Noun
  • The incident happened after two trenches collapsed in Oakland County in the last 24 hours.
    — DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 2 July 2026
  • All night long there was the ringing clatter of picks and shovels; the Germans were digging trenches in the frozen ground.
    — Vasily Grossman, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026
Definition of trenches
Noun
  • City officials warned residents in the vicinity of the dikes to prepare to evacuate.
    — Kansas City Public Library staff, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026
  • Constructing protective structures such as levees and dikes can help, as can preserving natural landscapes, such as wetlands and estuaries that can act as a natural sponge to absorb floodwaters, in and near the cities, Shao and her colleagues wrote.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 22 Apr. 2026
Definition of dikes
Noun
  • Scott Gordon, chief of water enforcement for EPA’s regional office at the time, toured the site in 2000 and said he was shocked by how the industrial water found its path into the river, sometimes through gullies cut by the flow.
    — DYLAN JACKSON, ABC News, 6 May 2026
  • Authorities say the mountain sees about a dozen rescues and one fatality per year, with slip-and-falls in steep gullies being a common danger.
    — Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2026
Definition of gullies
Noun
  • The gardens were developed in the 1930s on a site featuring natural ravines, now crossed by suspension bridges and laced with trails.
    — Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 23 June 2026
  • The face of the moon never looks the same from one night to the next, as the shifting angle between the moon and sun causes sunlight to sweep across its surface, altering the shadows cast by craters, mountain ranges and ravines.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 23 May 2026
Definition of ravines

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moat
moats
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Cite this Entry

“Moats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moats. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of moats for Spanish Speakers

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