trench
trench Lexical Profile
trench Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A long, narrow ditch excavated in the ground, typically used for laying drainage, utility pipes, or military defense.
"The construction crew dug a deep trench across the road to install the new fiber-optic cables."
A long, steep-sided depression in the ocean floor, typically formed by the subduction of one tectonic plate beneath another.
"The Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean is the deepest known point in the Earth's seabed."
• verb
To dig or excavate a long, narrow ditch in the ground.
"The workers had to trench the entire perimeter of the property before pouring the concrete foundation."
To encroach or infringe upon the rights, domain, or time of another (usually followed by 'on' or 'upon').
"The new legislation was criticized because it appeared to trench upon the civil liberties of everyday citizens."
• Rhymes for trench
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old French 'trenchier' (to cut, carve, slice), possibly from Vulgar Latin '*trinicare' (to cut in three). It originally referred to a path cut through a forest before evolving into the modern sense of a dug ditch.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.