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.
trenches,a system of such excavations, with their embankments, etc.
a deep furrow, ditch, or cut.
Oceanography. a long, steep-sided, narrow depression in the ocean floor.
verb (used with object)
to surround or fortify with trenches; entrench.
to cut a trench in.
to set or place in a trench.
to form (a furrow, ditch, etc.) by cutting into or through something.
to make a cut in; cut into; carve.
verb (used without object)
to dig a trench.
Verb Phrases
trench on / upon
to encroach or infringe on.
to come close to; verge on: His remarks were trenching on poor taste.
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
As trenches flooded, bomb craters on the battlefield filled with muddy water and swallowed artillery, horses, and people.
A climate anomaly may have worsened the 1918 pandemic and WWI|Kate Baggaley|September 25, 2020|Popular Science
If there are a half-dozen “Floridas,” one of them is sure to be Wisconsin, home to some of the closest elections and nastiest partisan trench warfare of the past decade.
Sunday Magazine: The Deciders|Daniel Malloy|September 13, 2020|Ozy
With rallies banned, opposition primaries declared “illegal,” and elections postponed, Hong Kongers are finding it ever more difficult to protest in a city that is falling deeper into trenches of authoritarianism by the day.
Hong Kongers drove a stock up 1,100% to protest a news mogul’s arrest|Mary Hui|August 11, 2020|Quartz
You don't bag something and leave it by the trench while you go back to the truck for your lunch.
The Real-Life Raiders of the Lost Ark|Alex Belth|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Early airpower theorists were not only repelled by trench warfare.
Why the U.S. Army Is Stuck in the 19th Century|Bill Sweetman|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The guys that I was partnering with early on wanted the logo to be a guy opening his trench coat.
The Movie Nudity Maestro: Jim McBride on 15 Years of Mr. Skin and That Scarlett Johansson Scene|Marlow Stern|August 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the highlight for me was touching down at the bottom of the trench.
James Cameron Dives into the Ocean's Abyss|Andrew Romano|July 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The 'floral' trench at the Chelsea Flower Show was created by a team representing the City of Birmingham.
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.