trench

Meanings

Plural: trenches

Noun

• a ditch dug as a fortification having a parapet of the excavated earth
• a long steep-sided depression in the ocean floor
• any long ditch cut in the ground
• A long, narrow ditch or hole dug in the ground.
• A narrow excavation as used in warfare, as a cover for besieging or emplaced forces.
• A pit, usually rectangular with smooth walls and floor, excavated during an archaeological investigation.
• A trench coat.

Verb

• impinge or infringe upon
  • "This matter entrenches on other domains"
• fortify by surrounding with trenches
  • "He trenched his military camp"
• cut or carve deeply into
  • "letters trenched into the stone"
• set, plant, or bury in a trench
  • "trench the fallen soldiers"
  • "trench the vegetables"
• cut a trench in, as for drainage
  • "trench the fields"
• dig a trench or trenches
  • "The National Guardsmen were sent out to trench"
• To invade, especially with regard to the rights or the exclusive authority of another; to encroach.
• To excavate an elongated pit for protection of soldiers and or equipment, usually perpendicular to the line of sight toward the enemy.
• To excavate an elongated and often narrow pit.
• To have direction; to aim or tend.
• To cut; to form or shape by cutting; to make by incision, hewing, etc.
• To cut furrows or ditches in.
• To dig or cultivate very deeply, usually by digging parallel contiguous trenches in succession, filling each from the next.

Synonyms

deep, ditch, encroach, entrench, impinge, oceanic abyss

Related Words

tranche, trenchant