Trench definition
A long narrow ditch dug in World War I to protect troops from being seen by the enemy is an example of a trench.
When you dig a long, narrow ditch to place a pipe, this is an example of a time when you trench.
To trench land for the purpose of draining it.
To trench a garden for certain crops.
Trench a pipeline.
- a system of trenches dug as fortifications, as in WWI
- a situation characterized by the heavy or physical work of any struggle or enterprise
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
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