Trench Definition
trĕnch
trenched, trenches, trenching
noun
trenches
A deep furrow or ditch.
American Heritage
A deep furrow in the ground, ocean floor, etc.
Webster's New World
A long, narrow ditch dug by soldiers for cover and concealment, with the removed earth heaped up in front.
Webster's New World
(archaeology) A pit, usually rectangular with smooth walls and floor, excavated during an archaeological investigation.
Wiktionary
(informal) A trench coat.
Wiktionary
verb
trenched, trenches, trenching
To dig a ditch or ditches, as for fortification.
Webster's New World
To cut, cut into, cut off, etc.; slice, gash, etc.
Webster's New World
To infringe (on or upon another's land, rights, time, etc.)
Webster's New World
To cut a deep furrow or furrows in.
Webster's New World
To surround or fortify with trenches; entrench.
Webster's New World
idiom
the trenches
- a system of trenches dug as fortifications, as in WWI
- a situation characterized by the heavy or physical work of any struggle or enterprise
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Trench
- the trenches
Origin of Trench
-
Middle English trenche from Old French from trenchier to cut perhaps from Vulgar Latin trincāre variant of Latin truncāre from truncus trunk terə-2 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Old French trenche.
From Wiktionary
Trench Is Also Mentioned In
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