I. ˈtrench noun
Etymology: Middle English trenche track cut through a wood, from Anglo-French, act of cutting, ditch, from trencher, trenchier to cut, probably from Vulgar Latin * trinicare to cut in three, from Latin trini three each — more at trine
Date: 15th century
1.
a. : a long cut in the ground : ditch ; especially : one used for military defense often with the excavated dirt thrown up in front
b. plural : a place, position, or level at which an activity is carried on in a manner likened to trench warfare — often used in the phrase in the trenches
activists working in the trench es
2. : a long, narrow, and usually steep-sided depression in the ocean floor — compare trough
3. : trench coat
II. verb
Date: 15th century
transitive verb
1. : to make a cut in : carve
2.
a. : to protect with or as if with a trench
b. : to cut a trench in : ditch
intransitive verb
1.
a. : entrench , encroach
trench ing on other domains which were more vital — Sir Winston Churchill
b. : to come close : verge
2. : to dig a trench