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Webster 1913 Edition

Trench

Trench

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Trenched
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Trenching
.]
[OF.
trenchier
to cut, F.
trancher
; akin to Pr.
trencar
,
trenchar
, Sp.
trinchar
, It.
trinciare
; of uncertain origin.]
1.
To cut; to form or shape by cutting; to make by incision, hewing, or the like.
The wide wound that the boar had
trenched

In his soft flank.
Shakespeare
This weak impress of love is as a figure
Trenched
in ice, which with an hour’s heat
Dissolves to water, and doth lose its form.
Shakespeare
2.
(Fort.)
To fortify by cutting a ditch, and raising a rampart or breastwork with the earth thrown out of the ditch; to intrench.
Pope.
No more shall
trenching
war channel her fields.
Shakespeare
3.
To cut furrows or ditches in;
as, to
trench
land for the purpose of draining it
.
4.
To dig or cultivate very deeply, usually by digging parallel contiguous trenches in succession, filling each from the next;
as, to
trench
a garden for certain crops
.

Trench

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To encroach; to intrench.
Does it not seem as if for a creature to challenge to itself a boundless attribute, were to
trench
upon the prerogative of the divine nature?
I. Taylor.
2.
To have direction; to aim or tend.
[R.]
Bacon.
To trench at
,
to make trenches against; to approach by trenches, as a town in besieging it.
[Obs.]
Like powerful armies,
trenching at
a town
By slow and silent, but resistless, sap.
Young.

Trench

,
Noun.
[OE.
trenche
, F.
tranchée
. See
Trench
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
A long, narrow cut in the earth; a ditch;
as, a
trench
for draining land
.
Mortimer.
2.
An alley; a narrow path or walk cut through woods, shrubbery, or the like.
[Obs.]
In a
trench
, forth in the park, goeth she.
Chaucer.
3.
(Fort.)
An excavation made during a siege, for the purpose of covering the troops as they advance toward the besieged place. The term includes the parallels and the approaches.
To open the trenches
(Mil.)
,
to begin to dig or to form the lines of approach.
–
Trench cavalier
(Fort.)
,
an elevation constructed (by a besieger) of gabions, fascines, earth, and the like, about half way up the glacis, in order to discover and enfilade the covered way.
–
Trench plow
, or
Trench plough
,
a kind of plow for opening land to a greater depth than that of common furrows.

Webster 1828 Edition

Trench

TRENCH

, v.t.
1.
To cut or dig, as a ditch, a channel for water, or a long hollow in the earth. We trench land for draining. [This is the appropriate sense of the word.]
2.
To fortify by cutting a ditch and raising a rampart or breast-work of earth thrown out of the ditch. [In this sense, entrench is more generally used.]
3.
To furrow; to form with deep furrows by plowing.
4.
To cut a long gash. [Not in use.]

TRENCH

,
Verb.
I.
To encroach. [See Entrench.]

TRENCH

,
Noun.
A long narrow cut in the earth; a ditch; as a trench for draining land.
1.
In fortification, a deep ditch cut for defense, or to interrupt the approach of an enemy. The wall or breast-work formed by the earth thrown out of the ditch, is also called a trench, as also any raised work formed with bavins, gabions, wool-packs or other solid materials, Hence, the phrases, to mount the trenches, to guard the trenches, to clear the trenches, &c.open the trenches, to begin to dig, or to form the lines of approach.

Definition 2024

trench

trench

English

A British trench during World War I.

Noun

trench ‎(plural trenches)

  1. A long, narrow ditch or hole dug in the ground.
  2. (military) A narrow excavation as used in warfare, as a cover for besieging or emplaced forces.
  3. (archaeology) A pit, usually rectangular with smooth walls and floor, excavated during an archaeological investigation.
  4. (informal) A trench coat.
    • 1999, April 24, Xiphias Gladius <ian@schultz.io.com>, "Re: trenchcoat mafia", ne.general.selected, Usenet:
      I was the first person in my high school to wear a trench and fedora constantly, and Ben was one of the first to wear a black trench.
    • 2007, Nina Garcia, The Little Black Book of Style, HarperCollins, as excerpted in Elle, October, page 138:
      A classic trench can work in any kind of weather and goes well with almost anything.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

trench ‎(third-person singular simple present trenches, present participle trenching, simple past and past participle trenched)

  1. (usually followed by upon) To invade, especially with regard to the rights or the exclusive authority of another; to encroach.
    • 1640, Ben Jonson, Underwoods, page 68:
      Shee is the Judge, Thou Executioner, Or if thou needs would'st trench upon her power, Thou mightst have yet enjoy'd thy crueltie, With some more thrift, and more varietie.
    • I. Taylor
      Does it not seem as if for a creature to challenge to itself a boundless attribute, were to trench upon the prerogative of the divine nature?
    • 1949, Charles Austin Beard, American Government and Politics, page 16:
      He could make what laws he pleased, as long as those laws did not trench upon property rights.
    • 2005, Carl von Clausewitz, J. J. Graham, On War, page 261:
      [O]ur ideas, therefore, must trench upon the province of tactics.
  2. (military, infantry) To excavate an elongated pit for protection of soldiers and or equipment, usually perpendicular to the line of sight toward the enemy.
    • Shakespeare
      No more shall trenching war channel her fields.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Alexander Pope to this entry?)
  3. (archaeology) To excavate an elongated and often narrow pit.
  4. To have direction; to aim or tend.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)
  5. To cut; to form or shape by cutting; to make by incision, hewing, etc.
    • Shakespeare
      The wide wound that the boar had trenched / In his soft flank.
    • Shakespeare
      This weak impress of love is as a figure / Trenched in ice, which with an hour's heat / Dissolves to water, and doth lose its form.
  6. To cut furrows or ditches in.
    to trench land for the purpose of draining it
  7. To dig or cultivate very deeply, usually by digging parallel contiguous trenches in succession, filling each from the next.
    to trench a garden for certain crops

French

Etymology

From English.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tʁɛ̃tʃ/

Noun

trench m ‎(plural trenchs)

  1. trench coat

Italian

Etymology

From English trench (coat).

Noun

trench m ‎(invariable)

  1. trench coat

Etymology

Borrowing from Old French trenche.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tɹɛntʃ/
  • Rhymes: -ɛntʃ

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