a long narrow excavation in the earth
"The farmer drove his tractor along the edge of the drainage ditch to check for leaks."
A trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage.
"The old dialect text lists many alternative forms, including the spelling ditch for deech."
Alternative form of deech
In plain English: A ditch is a long, narrow hole dug along the side of a road to catch rainwater and keep it from flooding the street.
"The kids decided to play near the muddy ditch by the road."
Usage: In modern American English, the term ditch almost exclusively refers to an open channel dug in the ground and rarely denotes a narrow strip of land between fields. Avoid using this word when you mean a small stream or natural waterway unless specifically describing a man-made excavation.
make an emergency landing on water
"The pilot had to ditch the plane in the ocean when the engine failed over the open sea."
To discard or abandon.
"The old dialect dictionary lists "ditch" as an alternative form of "deech.""
Alternative form of deech
The word ditch comes from the Old English dīċ, meaning "trench" or "moat." It traveled into modern usage as a term for an abandoned channel or hole dug in the ground to get rid of something unwanted, while its related form dike refers specifically to a dam.