entrench
Americanverb (used with object)
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entrenches,
present (3rd person singular)
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entrenched,
past participle, past
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entrenching
present participle
verb (used without object)
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entrenches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
entrenched,
past participle, past
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entrenching
present participle
verb
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(tr) to construct (a defensive position) by digging trenches around it
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(tr) to fix or establish firmly, esp so as to prevent removal or change
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to trespass or encroach; infringe
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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entrenchsimple
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entrenchessimple
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have entrenchedperfect
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has entrenchedperfect
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am entrenchingprogressive
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are entrenchingprogressive
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is entrenchingprogressive
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have been entrenchingperfect progressive
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has been entrenchingperfect progressive
Past
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entrenchedsimple
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had entrenchedperfect
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was entrenchingprogressive
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were entrenchingprogressive
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had been entrenchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of entrench
Explanation
To entrench is to secure something firmly. Entrench a tent pole in the ground so your tent doesn't fly away, or entrench yourself at your new job so you don’t get fired. Dig a little and see that entrench is from en meaning “in” and trench is from the Old French word trenche for "ditch,” just like the kind soldiers hide in. You don’t have to be a soldier to entrench, though — anytime a person or thing is securely inside something, it’s entrenched. If you entrench a swing set in your yard, it's solid. If a government entrenches a spy in another country, that spy blends right in.
Vocabulary lists containing entrench
This Week In Words: March 29–April 4, 2020
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Excerpt from "Self-Reliance"
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Vocabulary from "Love and Math" (Excerpt) by Edward Frenkel
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Sunstone Metals’s double dose of good news helps to entrench Shaw & Partners’s bullish view of its stock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
"Denying American startups access to models available abroad would stifle competition, entrench incumbents, and function as a tax on intelligence," the letter from the Little Tech Association said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
In Tehran, some ordinary Iranians feared a deal with the United States would entrench the authorities' rule.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
It is also possible that having five public companies in this ecosystem, instead of the current four, would further entrench Dolan and strengthen his control by making things even more complex.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
Grant had been criticized for not entrenching at Pittsburg Landing; Halleck, it seemed, was determined to entrench himself all the way from Pittsburg Landing to Corinth.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
Still, budget watchdogs argue that subsidies are too generous and the system disproportionately benefits large farms, which entrenches consolidation in agriculture.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
The risk is a settlement that entrenches Iranian influence over Persian Gulf energy exports for years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
Southwest as yet another heat dome entrenches itself over the southern tier of the country and Mexico.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 11, 2023
The wealth in the area entrenches inequality in accessing services, she says.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2022
In the last resort, his pessimism entrenches itself behind the psychological proposition that every satisfaction is negative, being only the removal of a pain.
From Schopenhauer by Thomas Whittaker
But given how deeply entrenched Chinese imports have become to India's industrial economy, this will be a formidable task for Delhi, experts told the BBC.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
The council deplored the suffering of Afghans and voiced deep concern about deeply entrenched impunity in the country.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
As Californians prepare to elect a new governor in November, the top concern they want the new leader to prioritize is reducing the state’s entrenched high cost of living, according to a new poll.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
After more than five years above target, inflation could become entrenched as businesses and households come to expect it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Their entrenched inwardness, a profoundly interior consciousness, seemed at times woven into their personalities.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Advanced Micro Devices is further entrenching itself with Big Tech customers — and investors are cheering even without knowing the financial details of the company’s latest deal extension.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
They’re further entrenching themselves with their AI cloud customers, and growing their ad businesses, while Amazon also continues to see more mild growth of e-commerce sales.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
But the situation risks entrenching trends that had already turned Kuwait—which flourished in the 1960s and 1970s—into something of an also-ran in the region after it struggled to rebound from the 1990 Iraq invasion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
Britain’s economy expanded only slightly in August, entrenching a period of slow growth after the fast clip at the start of this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
She had nothing further to offer—an indication of a standoff moving to a new phase, into a more formal legal arena, with the sides entrenching.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
