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moat Definition

moat (mōt)

noun

a deep, broad ditch dug around a fortress or castle, and often filled with water, for protection against invasion

Etymology: ME mote < OFr, orig., mound, embankment, prob. < Gmc *motta, heap of earth

transitive verb

to surround with or as with a moat

moat Synonyms

moat

n.

moat Usage Examples

Converse of subject

  • surround: The site of the manor house is surrounded by a narrow moat which is fed by water from the New River.
  • enclose: Once enclosed by the longest moat in England, only 13 acres remain of the original 36.

Converse of object

  • swim: Castles with footmen to hold back the wild dogs and swim the moat to retrieve the Tupperware ain't cheap.
  • dig: During the 13th century the de Clinton family dug the moat and settled on the land, giving their name to the estate.
  • fill: Set in 6½ acres of gardens, the Priory is sited on an island surrounded by England's longest water filled medieval moat.
  • surround: A moat surrounded all three enclosures, the inner bailey separated by its own moat.
  • cross: The plant has now become a living bridge, which you can climb up to cross the moat.

Noun used with modifier

  • castle: Below: view of the Great Tower from the castle moat.

Adjective modifier

  • water-filled: This shows a large, square, water-filled moat with an arched causeway bridge over the west side.
  • dry: Now the dry moat beneath the North Wall is playing host to an ice rink.
  • circular: Water Markers Watkins considered circular moats to be fairly safe ley points.
  • medieval: The clump of trees beyond the old barn indicate the site of the medieval moat.
  • deep: Inside the bailey, the keep was further protected by a deep moat.
  • broad: The most striking is the way it is lapped by the waters of its broad moat.

Object

  • castle: A Romantic, moated 13th century castle - once the home of Anne Boleyn - set in award-winning gardens.
  • enclosure: John de Edlingham built a large two-storey Hall House in a moated enclosure in the mid 13th century.
  • mound: The moated mound where their manor house stood can still be seen in the meadows close to the two remaining medieval fish ponds.
  • mansion: The hall had been the moated mansion of the Levesons, a family who had made their money through the wool trade.
  • manor: The National Trust's magnificent 15th century moated manor of Oxburgh Hall is just fields away.
  • house: Further round the trail, a side path gives access to the environs of the moated manor house.

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