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• trench
  trench

  noun

  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.
• Trench
  Trench

  noun

  Richard Chenevix 1807–86, English clergyman and scholar, born in Ireland.

trench

¹ American  

[trench] / trɛntʃ /

noun

• trenches
  plural

1. 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.

2. trenches, a system of such excavations, with their embankments, etc.

3. a deep furrow, ditch, or cut.

4. Oceanography. a long, steep-sided, narrow depression in the ocean floor.

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verb (used with object)

• trenches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trenched,
  past participle,  past
• trenching
  present participle

1. to surround or fortify with trenches; entrench.

2. to cut a trench in.

3. to set or place in a trench.

4. to form (a furrow, ditch, etc.) by cutting into or through something.

5. to make a cut in; cut into; carve.

verb (used without object)

• trenches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trenched,
  past participle,  past
• trenching
  present participle

1. to dig a trench.

verb phrase

1. trench on / upon

   1. to encroach or infringe on.

   2. to come close to; verge on.

      His remarks were trenching on poor taste.

Trench ² American  

[trench] / trɛntʃ /

noun

1. Richard Chenevix 1807–86, English clergyman and scholar, born in Ireland.

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trench British  

/ trɛntʃ /

noun

1. a deep ditch or furrow

2. a ditch dug as a fortification, having a parapet of the excavated earth

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verb

1. to make a trench in (a place)

2. (tr) to fortify with a trench or trenches

3. to slash or be slashed

4. (intr; foll by on or upon) to encroach or verge

trench Scientific  

/ trĕnch /

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subtrench
  noun
• untrenched
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• trenches
  plural

Participles

• trenching
  present
• trenched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• trench
  simple
• trenches
  simple
• have trenched
  perfect
• has trenched
  perfect
• am trenching
  progressive
• are trenching
  progressive
• is trenching
  progressive
• have been trenching
  perfect progressive
• has been trenching
  perfect progressive

Past

• trenched
  simple
• had trenched
  perfect
• was trenching
  progressive
• were trenching
  progressive
• had been trenching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will trench
  simple
• will have trenched
  perfect
• will be trenching
  progressive
• will have been trenching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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

Explanation

A trench is a deep and narrow hole, or ditch, in the ground, like the kind soldiers on frontlines might dig to give themselves shelter from the enemy. A natural trench may also be a deep hole on the bottom of the ocean. The verb trench means to dig or to cut into, but you will most often hear the word as a noun, particularly relating to soldiers. The phrase trench warfare became popular around World War I, when technological advances in weapons changed the way that wars were fought. Today, you may have even own a trench coat, a kind of raincoat first worn by soldiers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trench Trench trenches trenched trenching

Located just below the seafloor, this unusually weak layer allowed the fault to rupture all the way to the trench during the 2011 "megathrust" earthquake.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026

The whales were believed to have died in such numbers in this particular area because it is a popular foraging habitat -- and has a V-shaped trench that funnels carcasses to the seafloor.

From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026

His goth uniform included an olive-green trench coat he borrowed from his mom.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026

Instead of a foundation trench, the machine had opened up not only a scramble for stolen treasure, but a legal minefield and forgotten moment of desperate rebellion from England's history.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026

In the trench, the earth felt like soaked bread.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Because this pelagic clay layer stretches for hundreds of miles along the Japan Trench, researchers believe the region may be more vulnerable to shallow slip earthquakes than previously thought.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026

The Cotabato Trench, which lies as close as 50 kilometres off Mindanao, is the site of frequent seismic activity, including a "swarm" of thousands of mostly small tremors recorded in January.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

Monday's quake was caused by a movement on the Cotabato Trench, off the country's southern tip.

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026

Trench became financially independent by age 27 and now has two children.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 14, 2026

Before 2011, most scientists believed that the Japan Trench could not produce an earthquake stronger than magnitude 7.5.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

Mamdani removed all of the advisers on the group’s board, which many on Wall Street and in the development trenches saw as a sign that he isn’t much interested in their opinions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

And that’s the result of a formidable quantity of skills acquired over half a century immersed in the rock ‘n’ roll trenches, whether as a listener, critic, producer, or active participant.

From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026

In some areas, trenches have been dug to act as fire breaks.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Because Sardis sits on an alluvial plain, some trenches extend as much as 12 meters underground.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026

It’s a ton of work—clearing the rocks, digging trenches for the thick slabs of wood to make the edges of the trails or to create steps on the steep inclines up a hill.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

After clearing swaths of torched aloe plants, he trenched in about 500 native plants that he said “will look spectacular in a few years.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025

Olson, even though it trenched upon the president’s executive authority, concluding that the statute did not unduly limit the president’s power because the imposition was slight.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 12, 2018

And he was as equally unhappy during construction, when the company trenched up his manicured yard to run the pipeline 60 feet from the front door of his family’s 5-year-old brick home.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 29, 2017

Technically, the ditches are considered Oakmont’s only water hazards, even if the fast-moving groundwater rarely remains in the trenched channels long enough to puddle.

From New York Times ● Jun. 11, 2016

Many of the fair’s fifty-seven miles of roadway were still either submerged or coated with mud, and others had been gouged and trenched by vehicles that had used the roads while they were still sodden.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

That could involve trenching and running the cable underground, even cutting through the surface of the driveway before refilling and recovering it.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 26, 2022

City of Shoreline permitting records online didn’t contain information Tuesday about what kind of worker protection was used in the trenching site.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 2022

They were used to using machinery and trenching and those skills were transferrable to cemeteries.

From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2022

“He started trenching, picking, and ordered up drilling,” said Mr. Kabongo.

From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2021

Tools for emergency, tow lines, a small block and tackle, a trenching tool and crowbar, tools for making and fixing and improvising.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• dike
• foxhole
• gorge
• gully
• moat
• pit
• trough
• waterway