Trench
[tren(t)ʃ] or [trɛntʃ]
Definition
(noun.) a ditch dug as a fortification having a parapet of the excavated earth.
(noun.) any long ditch cut in the ground.
(noun.) a long steep-sided depression in the ocean floor.
(verb.) dig a trench or trenches; 'The National Guardsmen were sent out to trench'.
(verb.) cut a trench in, as for drainage; 'ditch the land to drain it'; 'trench the fields'.
(verb.) set, plant, or bury in a trench; 'trench the fallen soldiers'; 'trench the vegetables'.
(verb.) cut or carve deeply into; 'letters trenched into the stone'.
(verb.) fortify by surrounding with trenches; 'He trenched his military camp'.
Editor: Spence--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To cut; to form or shape by cutting; to make by incision, hewing, or the like.
(v. t.) To fortify by cutting a ditch, and raising a rampart or breastwork with the earth thrown out of the ditch; to intrench.
(v. t.) To cut furrows or ditches in; as, to trench land for the purpose of draining it.
(v. t.) To dig or cultivate very deeply, usually by digging parallel contiguous trenches in succession, filling each from the next; as, to trench a garden for certain crops.
(v. i.) To encroach; to intrench.
(v. i.) To have direction; to aim or tend.
(v. t.) A long, narrow cut in the earth; a ditch; as, a trench for draining land.
(v. t.) An alley; a narrow path or walk cut through woods, shrubbery, or the like.
(v. t.) An excavation made during a siege, for the purpose of covering the troops as they advance toward the besieged place. The term includes the parallels and the approaches.
Typed by Aldo
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. n. Encroach, intrude, infringe, trespass.
n. Ditch, fosse, moat, drain, sewer, water-course.
Typist: Wanda
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Moat, ditch, drain, fosse
SYN:Trespass, infringe, encroach,[See TREACHERY]
Inputed by Barnard
Definition
v.t. to dig a ditch: to dig deeply with the spade or plough.—v.i. to encroach.—n. a long narrow cut in the earth: (fort.) an excavation to interrupt the approach of an enemy: an excavated approach made by besiegers.—n. Tren′chancy causticity.—adjs. Tren′chant Tren′ching cutting: sharp: severe—(Spens.) Tren′chand.—ns. Tren′cher; Trench′-plough a plough for trenching or turning up the land more deeply than usual.—v.t. to plough with a trench-plough.
Inputed by Betty
Unserious Contents or Definition
To see trenches in dreams, warns you of distant treachery. You will sustain loss if not careful in undertaking new enterprises, or associating with strangers. To see filled trenches, denotes many anxieties are gathering around you. See Ditch.
Edited by Cheryl
Examples
- It may be a pit, a box, a mow, a tank, a building, or a trench in the earth. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- These transplanters will dig the plant trench, distribute the fertiliser, set the plant, pack the earth and water the plant, automatically. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- He started as they passed the angle of the trench--it looked like a colossal grave. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- At Dewlish in Dorset, an artificial trench has been found which is supposed to have been a Pal?olithic trap for elephants. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- This the Romans besieged, and a period of trench warfare ensued. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- A double stockade, or palisade, composed of pointed beams, which the adjacent forest supplied, defended the outer and inner bank of the trench. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- The first person who addressed her was one Mr. Trench; a certain short-sighted, pedantic man, whom most people know about town. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- The column moving detached from the army still in the trenches was, excluding the cavalry, very small. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- He fortified his new position, and our trenches were then extended from the left of our main line to connect with his new one. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Constantinople was invested, trenches dug, and advances made. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- The forces in the trenches were themselves extending to the left flank. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- These mines can be thrown for a considerable distance and create havoc in the enemy’s trenches if the aim is true. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Arm and put in the trenches your quartermaster employees, citizens, etc. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- These answered as cochorns, and shells were successfully thrown from them into the trenches of the enemy. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- She grieved for the loss of Raymond with an anguish, that exiled all smile from her lips, and trenched sad lines on her brow of beauty. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
Edited by Guthrie