noun
Freq #142032
Meanings
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1
noun
stagnant, usually dirty water collected in a roadside or field ditch
A film of oil floated on the ditchwater.
Thesaurus
Etymology
A transparent compound of ditch and water, recorded in English for water lying in a drainage ditch. Its association with stagnant, unappealing liquid also produced the comparison 'dull as ditchwater.'