trench

[ trench ]

/ trɛntʃ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR trench ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Fortification. a long, narrow excavation in the ground, the earth from which is thrown up in front to serve as a shelter from enemy fire or attack.

trenches, a system of such excavations, with their embankments, etc.

a deep furrow, ditch, or cut.

Oceanography. a long, steep-sided, narrow depression in the ocean floor.

verb (used with object)

to surround or fortify with trenches; entrench.

to cut a trench in.

to set or place in a trench.

to form (a furrow, ditch, etc.) by cutting into or through something.

to make a cut in; cut into; carve.

verb (used without object)

to dig a trench.

Verb Phrases

trench on/upon,

to encroach or infringe on.
to come close to; verge on: His remarks were trenching on poor taste.

Origin of trench

1350–1400; Middle English trenche path made by cutting < Old French: act of cutting, a cut, derivative of trenchier to cut < Vulgar Latin *trincāre, for Latin truncāre to lop; see truncate

OTHER WORDS FROM trench

sub·trench, noun un·trenched, adjective

Words nearby trench

tremolo arm, tremor, tremulant, tremulous, trenail, trench, trench coat, trench fever, trench foot, trench knife, trench mortar

Definition for trench (2 of 2)

Trench

[ trench ]

/ trɛntʃ /

noun

Richard Chen·e·vix

[shen-uh-vee] /ˈʃɛn ə vi/,1807–86, English clergyman and scholar, born in Ireland.

Example sentences from the Web for trench

You don't bag something and leave it by the trench while you go back to the truck for your lunch.

The Real-Life Raiders of the Lost Ark |Alex Belth |November 14, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Early airpower theorists were not only repelled by trench warfare.

Why the U.S. Army Is Stuck in the 19th Century |Bill Sweetman |September 2, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The guys that I was partnering with early on wanted the logo to be a guy opening his trench coat.

The Movie Nudity Maestro: Jim McBride on 15 Years of Mr. Skin and That Scarlett Johansson Scene |Marlow Stern |August 9, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
And the highlight for me was touching down at the bottom of the trench.

James Cameron Dives into the Ocean's Abyss |Andrew Romano |July 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

The 'floral' trench at the Chelsea Flower Show was created by a team representing the City of Birmingham.

Queen Visits 'Floral' Trench |Tom Sykes |May 20, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The raiding, party hurled itself into the trench, headed by an officer of ferocious mien.

Punch, Volume 156, January 22, 1919. |Various
I knew that if they took the trench I was in it would be a bad job for our trenches behind.

The Irish at the Front |Michael MacDonagh
A few paces ahead, the trench was crossed by a bridge (closed by a wicket gate) which connected the garden with the park.

Armadale |Wilkie Collins
Along the crest of the plateau ran a sort of trench whose presence it was impossible for the distant observer to divine.

Les Misrables |Victor Hugo
There might have been a regiment of Germans in the trench for all that Dubois and his two comrades could tell.

Fighting in France |Ross Kay

British Dictionary definitions for trench

trench

/ (trɛntʃ) /

noun

a deep ditch or furrow

a ditch dug as a fortification, having a parapet of the excavated earth

verb

to make a trench in (a place)

(tr) to fortify with a trench or trenches

to slash or be slashed

(intr; foll by on or upon) to encroach or verge

Word Origin for trench

C14: from Old French trenche something cut, from trenchier to cut, from Latin truncāre to cut off

Scientific definitions for trench

trench

[ trĕnch ]

A long, steep-sided valley on the ocean floor. Trenches form when one tectonic plate slides beneath another plate at a subduction zone. The Marianas Trench, located in the western Pacific east of the Philippines, is the deepest known trench (10,924 m or 35,831 ft) and the deepest area in the ocean.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

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trench