trench warfare

SEE SYNONYMS FOR trench warfare ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

combat in which each side occupies a system of protective trenches.

Words nearby trench warfare

trench fever, trench foot, trench knife, trench mortar, trench mouth, trench warfare, trenchant, trenchard, trencher, trencherman, trenches

Origin of trench warfare

First recorded in 1915–20

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for trench warfare

After trench-warfare days there was an incongruity in some episodes, which was not devoid of humour.
The Story of the 2/4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry|G. K. Rose
To maintain the normal semblance of trench-warfare was an easy task for the German, and one that he never failed in.
The Story of the 2/4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry|G. K. Rose
This process of relief and the general conditions brought a return of trench-warfare almost on its old lines.
The Story of the 2/4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry|G. K. Rose
Another extensive project in the trench-warfare program was the manufacture of the so-called toxic gas sets.
America's Munitions 1917-1918|Benedict Crowell

It was the beginning of trench-warfare, though owing to the nature of the country there were few trenches.
Adventures of a Despatch Rider|W. H. L. Watson

British Dictionary definitions for trench warfare

trench warfare

noun

a type of warfare in which opposing armies face each other in entrenched positions

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for trench warfare

trench warfare

Warfare marked by slow wearing down of the opposing forces and piecemeal gains at heavy cost. The term applies especially to World War I.