trench
1 Americannoun
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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.
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trenches, a system of such excavations, with their embankments, etc.
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a deep furrow, ditch, or cut.
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Oceanography. a long, steep-sided, narrow depression in the ocean floor.
verb (used with object)
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to surround or fortify with trenches; entrench.
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to cut a trench in.
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to set or place in a trench.
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to form (a furrow, ditch, etc.) by cutting into or through something.
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to make a cut in; cut into; carve.
verb (used without object)
verb phrase
noun
noun
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a deep ditch or furrow
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a ditch dug as a fortification, having a parapet of the excavated earth
verb
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to make a trench in (a place)
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(tr) to fortify with a trench or trenches
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to slash or be slashed
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to encroach or verge
Other Word Forms
- subtrench noun
- untrenched adjective
Etymology
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; truncate
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.
However, let me whip out my beige trench coat and magnifying glass as I tell you: My investigation did uncover some interesting questions about the origins of this salmon.
From Salon
But a Tuareg man in a black trench coat approached Sereno's team on a motorcycle, claiming to know where "big bones" lay.
From Barron's
The bodies of Confederate soldiers piled up in “Bloody Lane,” a trench on the Antietam Battlefield.
From Literature
Eastern Ukraine used to feel like a throwback to the Western Front in World War One, with trenches and dugouts reinforced against artillery and snipers.
From BBC
Known as the King's Trough Complex, this vast underwater structure stretches roughly 500 kilometers and includes a series of parallel trenches and deep basins.
From Science Daily
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.
