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moat

/moʊt/
/məʊt/
IPA guide

Other forms: moats

Not many houses these days have a moat — it's a trench dug outside a castle and is usually full of water. A moat means "Keep out!"

You're most likely to hear about moats if you read a fairy tale or a history of medieval times. This water-filled ditch is one of the lines of defense for a castle. In the old days, it was pretty effective. If you filled the moat with a deadly fish — like a piranha — that was an even better defense. A moat is pretty much the opposite of a welcome mat.

Definitions of moat
  1. noun
    ditch dug as a fortification and usually filled with water
    synonyms: fosse
    see moresee less
    type of:
    trench
    a ditch dug as a fortification having a parapet of the excavated earth
Pronunciation
US
/moʊt/
UK
/məʊt/
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