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barrow pit

American  

noun

Western U.S.

  1. a roadside borrow pit dug for drainage purposes.

Etymology

Origin of barrow pit

Apparently in reference to the mound of earth dug from the pit ( see barrow 2); variants with bar perhaps from regional pronunciation of barrow

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It must have come as quite a shock because she ended up swerving down into the barrow pit and back up onto the road.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 27, 2021

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.