Main Entry: ¹trench

Pronunciation: \ˈtrench\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English trenche track cut through a wood, from Anglo-French, act of cutting, ditch, from trencher, trenchier to cut, probably from Vulgar Latin *trinicare to cut in three, from Latin trini three each — more at trine

Date: 15th century

1 a : a long cut in the ground : ditch; especially : one used for military defense often with the excavated dirt thrown up in front b plural : a place, position, or level at which an activity is carried on in a manner likened to trench warfare —often used in the phrase in the trenches <activists working in the trenches>
2 : a long, narrow, and usually steep-sided depression in the ocean floor — compare trough
3 : trench coat