A trench is a long narrow channel that is cut into the ground, for example in order to lay pipes or get rid of water.
2. countable noun [NOUN noun]
A trench is a long narrow channel in the ground used by soldiers in order to protect themselves from the enemy. People often refer to the battle grounds of the First World War in Northern France and Belgium as the trenches.
We fought with them in the trenches.
...trench warfare.
More Synonyms of trench
trench in British English
(trɛntʃ)
noun
1.
a deep ditch or furrow
2.
a ditch dug as a fortification, having a parapet of the excavated earth
verb
3.
to make a trench in (a place)
4. (transitive)
to fortify with a trench or trenches
5.
to slash or be slashed
6. (intr; foll by on or upon)
to encroach or verge
Word origin
C14: from Old French trenche something cut, from trenchier to cut, from Latin truncāre to cut off
trench in American English
(trɛntʃ)
verb transitive
1.
to cut, cut into, cut off, etc.; slice, gash, etc.
2.
a.
to cut a deep furrow or furrows in
b.
to dig a ditch or ditches in
3.
to surround or fortify with trenches; entrench
verb intransitive
4.
to dig a ditch or ditches, as for fortification
5.
to infringe (on or upon another's land, rights, time, etc.)
6.
to verge or border (on); come close
noun
7.
a deep furrow in the ground, ocean floor, etc.
8.
a long, narrow ditch dug by soldiers for cover and concealment, with the removed earth heaped up in front
Word origin
LME trenchen < OFr trenchier (Fr trancher), to cut, hack, prob. < L truncare, to cut off: see truncate
Examples of 'trench' in a sentence
trench
And still the moving horrors came on until they reached the first German trench.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There is little hope in the whole system, which is like some kind of trench warfare in the face of adversity.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The site includes a chapel and a museum containing a poignant collection of artifacts from the Italian front and some original trench fortifications.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
A million French soldiers had been killed in trench warfare.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
This trench warfare will be against the background of vocal press campaigns.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The shallow trenches were choked with the dead and wounded.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
They relied on a bunker rather than trench system.
Stewart, Bob (Lt-Col) Broken Lives (1993)
Mechanical diggers have carved out a deep surrounding trench.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It might save you from trench foot.
The Sun (2007)
The rest of the year it was like trench warfare.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It made them prone to stay in camp and near a deep trench.
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss THE WOLF AND THE DOVE
And another year of festival trench foot.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Wooden trenches no longer seemed desirable.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
What can be more covetable than the original Burberry trench?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
They've cut a trench right across the road!
Tepper, Sheri S. A Plague of Angels (1993)
Think of the classic Burberry trench coat and the first colour that springs to mind is beige.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The movements were broadcast via loudspeakers throughout the city with extra volume for the German trenches.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Though the trenches have long gone, the violence remains.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
And if this is true of a classic trench coat, surely it can be extended to interiors.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
What makes a Burberry trench coat?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
At the top there's a trench cut into the rock, which goes to a small cavern.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In other languages
trench
British English: trench /trɛntʃ/ NOUN
A trench is a long narrow channel dug in the ground.
American English: trench
Arabic: خَنْدَق
Brazilian Portuguese: trincheira
Chinese: 壕沟
Croatian: rov
Czech: příkop
Danish: grøft
Dutch: geul
European Spanish: zanja cimientos
Finnish: kaivanto
French: tranchée
German: Graben
Greek: τάφρος
Italian: trincea
Japanese: 深くて細長い溝
Korean: 참호
Norwegian: grøft
Polish: rów
European Portuguese: trincheira
Romanian: canal
Russian: ров
Latin American Spanish: zanja
Swedish: dike
Thai: คู
Turkish: siper
Ukrainian: траншея
Vietnamese: rãnh
All related terms of 'trench'
slit trench
a narrow trench dug for the protection of a small number of people
trench coat
A trench coat is a type of raincoat with pockets and a belt. Trench coats are often similar in design to military coats.
trench foot
a form of frostbite affecting the feet of persons standing for long periods in cold water
robber trench
a trench that originally contained the foundations of a wall, the stones of which have been taken away
trench fever
an acute infectious disease characterized by fever and muscular aches and pains , caused by the microorganism Rickettsia quintana and transmitted by the bite of a body louse
trench knife
a double-edged steel knife , often with a guard in the form of a knuckle-duster , designed for close combat
trench knives
a double-edged steel knife , often with a guard in the form of a knuckle-duster , designed for close combat
trench mortar
a portable mortar used in trench warfare to shoot projectiles at a high trajectory over a short range
trench mouth
a bacterial ulcerative disease characterized by inflammation of the tonsils , gums , etc
oceanic trench
a long narrow steep-sided depression in the earth's oceanic crust , usually lying above a subduction zone
trench warfare
a type of warfare in which opposing armies face each other in entrenched positions
Chinese translation of 'trench'
trench
(trɛntʃ)
n(c)
沟(溝) (gōu) (条(條), tiáo)
(in battlefield) 战(戰)壕 (zhànháo) (个(個), gè)
(noun)
Definition
a long deep ditch used by soldiers for protection in a war
Dig a trench at least a metre deep.
Synonyms
ditch
The car went out of control and ended up in a ditch.
cut
channel
Keep the drainage channel clear.
drain
He built his own house and laid his own drains.
pit
He lost his footing and began to slide into the pit.
waterway
gutter
The waste washes down the gutter and into the city's sewerage system.
trough
furrow
Bike trails crisscrossed the grassy furrows.
excavation
excavations in the earth
earthwork
fosse
entrenchment
Additional synonyms
in the sense of channel
Definition
a groove
Keep the drainage channel clear.
Synonyms
duct,
chamber,
artery,
groove,
gutter,
furrow,
conduit
in the sense of drain
Definition
a pipe that carries off water or sewage
He built his own house and laid his own drains.
Synonyms
sewer,
channel,
pipe,
sink,
outlet,
ditch,
trench,
conduit,
duct,
culvert,
watercourse
in the sense of excavation
excavations in the earth
Synonyms
hole,
mine,
pit,
ditch,
shaft,
cutting,
cut,
hollow,
trench,
burrow,
quarry,
dig,
trough,
cavity,
dugout,
diggings
Nearby words of
trench
tremendous
tremor
tremulous
trench
trenchant
trend
trendsetter
Synonyms of 'trench'
trench
Explore 'trench' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of furrow
Definition
a long narrow trench made in the ground by a plough
Bike trails crisscrossed the grassy furrows.
Synonyms
groove,
line,
channel,
hollow,
trench,
seam,
crease,
fluting,
rut,
corrugation
in the sense of gutter
Definition
a channel on the roof of a building or alongside a kerb, used to collect and carry away rainwater
The waste washes down the gutter and into the city's sewerage system.
Synonyms
drain,
channel,
tube,
pipe,
ditch,
trench,
trough,
conduit,
duct,
sluice
in the sense of pit
Definition
a large deep opening in the ground
He lost his footing and began to slide into the pit.