ditch

A ditch is a long, narrow hole or channel dug into the ground. It can also refer to an informal path or road.

When we talk about ditches, we often think of muddy paths that lead somewhere, but not necessarily a proper road. For example, you might say "I took a shortcut through the woods and ended up in a ditch" – it was a small, unofficial path that wasn't meant for cars, but rather hikers or people on foot. Sometimes, ditches are also used to describe areas of land that have been dug out, like when farmers dig a ditch around their fields to keep water from collecting there. In this case, the ditch is more like a big hole in the ground than a path.