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, adjectiveWords nearby trench
tremolo arm,
tremor,
tremulant,
tremulous,
trenail,
trench,
trench coat,
trench fever,
trench foot,
trench knife,
trench mortar
Example sentences from the Web for trenches
British Dictionary definitions for trenches (1 of 2)
trenches
/ (ˈtrɛntʃɪz) /
pl n
a system of excavations used for the protection of troops, esp those (the Trenches) used at the front line in World War I
British Dictionary definitions for trenches (2 of 2)
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
See also
trenches
Word Origin for trench
C14: from Old French
trenche something cut, from
trenchier to cut, from Latin
truncāre to cut off
Scientific definitions for trenches
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.