-
Trending Now:
More Trending:
- admiral's mast calumny kakistocracy bona fide surrogate mother
- ALL
Definition of trench
1a : a long cut in the ground : ditch; especially : one used for military defense often with the excavated dirt thrown up in frontb trenches 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
Explore Merriam-Webster
Examples of trench in a Sentence
dug a trench and filled it with water in an attempt to keep the forest fire off her property
Recent Examples of trench from the Web
-
The television journalists with their trench coats and stentorian inflections.
-
In the same way that football is a game of inches, Maintenance Mania is often, in the same way, won in the trenches, with the winners and the also-rans separated by mere fractions of seconds.
-
One of Brigade 55’s three battalions attacked the Jordanian position known as Ammunition Hill, and fought one of the bloodiest battles of the war, hand-to-hand combat in trenches.
-
The Washington people around Trump hide in the trenches of the past instead of building the future.
-
But in the Rose Canyon trench, things are very chaotic.
-
Johnson says this Japanese technique is fairly simple to pull off: Dig a trench, line it with soil and rocks, and fill it in with gravel.
-
The slurry wall leaks in major areas and the EPA had to install a groundwater trench around the site that collects 20,000 gallons a week, which is shipped to Detroit for treatment.
-
We were set under siege by them, and our actions during the first days were very much like the hasty digging of trenches.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'trench'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of trench
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
trench
Definition of trench
First Known Use of trench
15th century
TRENCH Defined for English Language Learners
trench
playDefinition of trench for English Language Learners
-
: a long, narrow hole that is dug in the ground
-
: a deep, narrow hole in the ground that is used as protection for soldiers
-
: a long, narrow hole in the ocean floor
TRENCH Defined for Kids
Learn More about trench
-
See words that rhyme with trench Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for trench Spanish Central: Translation of trench Nglish: Translation of trench for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of trench for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about trench
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up trench? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!