moat — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation.

   Synonyms

   fosse

2. A characteristic of a business that enhances its resilience against competitive pressures, arising from the inherent nature of its products, services, brand, or other structural advantages.

   Usage

   • Figurative

   Examples

   No matter how good your company's product is or how quickly the industry is growing, if there is no moat, competitors will invade your castle and burn it down.

   More examples (2)

   “I think ‘moats’ are lame,” Mr. Musk had said during a Tesla earnings call. It was a criticism of an economic principle that Mr. Buffett had coined in 1999 and that has become something of a mantra for his faithful: Invest in businesses “that have wide, sustainable moats around them.”

   Moreover, where older firms might have to stave off competitors and engage in practices like predatory pricing to keep the competition at bay, platform monopolies have a built-in moat. Since a platform’s value comes from its number of users—a phenomenon known as the network effect—competing against large platforms is nigh impossible since its monopoly position makes it inherently more useful.

3. A circular lowland between a resurgent dome and the walls of the caldera surrounding it.

4. A clear ring outside the eyewall of a tropical cyclone.

5. A hill or mound.

   Usage

   • Obsolete

Verb

1. To surround with a moat.

   Usage

   • Transitive

Noun

1. ditch dug as a fortification and usually filled with water

   Synonyms

   fosse

   Broader terms

   trench