trench

UK/ˈtɹɛnt͡ʃ/US/ˈtɹɛnt͡ʃ/

nounB2Common in everyday speech and writing · #4,774 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: trenches

A trench is the long ditch soldiers lived and fought in. Dig a trench, the front-line trench, trench warfare.

The Western Front trenches ran hundreds of miles and were dug in zigzags so that a shell or an attacker could not sweep a whole length. Trench foot came from standing in water for days. In the sea a trench is the deepest kind of feature. Note trench coat.

Definitions of trench

1nountrenchA long narrow ditch, especially one dug for soldiers.B2
“The soldiers spent the winter in muddy trenches, waiting for the next attack.”

trench is a ditch.

Where it comes from

Old French trenche means a cut or slice, from trenchier, to cut. Trench and tranche are the same word.

Old French
trenche
English, today
trench

Borrowed into Middle English - from Old French trenche. a doublet of tranche and traunch. Possible doublet of truncate

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in History & Eras, Military & Defence

Practise this word

trench in the wild

Data has also suggested that microbial life forms thrive within the trench.
Mariana Trench
In civil engineering, trenches are often created to install underground utilities such as gas, water, power and communication lines.
Trench
In construction, trenches are dug for foundations of buildings, retaining walls and dams, and for cut-and-cover construction of tunnels.
Trench
The area between opposing trench lines (known as "no man's land") was fully exposed to artillery fire from both sides.
Trench warfare
Originally developed for British Army officers before the First World War, they became popular while used in the trenches, hence the name.
Trench coat

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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