What does "retrench" mean?
To cut down or reduce.
Retrench
/ɹɪˈtɹɛnt͡ʃ/ verb
verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To cut down or reduce.
- Grammar: retrench is listed as verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abate, abbreviate, abrade, abridge.
- Useful contrasts: advance, affirm position, commit further.
- Usage evidence: O conſider my caſe, moſt blisfull Queen, […] Diſpell thoſe Clouds which hover 'twixt my King and his higheſt Counſell, […] that my great Law-making Court be forced to turn no more to polemicall Committees, […] but that they may come again to the old Parliamentary Rode, To the path of their Predeceſſours, to conſult of means how to ſweep away thoſe Cobwebs that hang in the Courts of Juſtice, and to make the Laws run in their right Channell; to retrench exceſſive fees, and finde remedies for the future, that the poor Client be not ſo peeled by his Lawyer, and made to ſuffer by ſuch monſtrous delays, that one may go from one Tropick to the other, and croſſe the Equinoctiall twenty times, before his ſute be done; […]
How to use "retrench"
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Source and review context
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Check whether "retrench" is acting as verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Definitions
Verb
- 1 To cut down or reduce. transitive
"O conſider my caſe, moſt blisfull Queen, […] Diſpell thoſe Clouds which hover 'twixt my King and his higheſt Counſell, […] that my great Law-making Court be forced to turn no more to polemicall Committees, […] but that they may come again to the old Parliamentary Rode, To the path of their Predeceſſours, to conſult of means how to ſweep away thoſe Cobwebs that hang in the Courts of Juſtice, and to make the Laws run in their right Channell; to retrench exceſſive fees, and finde remedies for the future, that the poor Client be not ſo peeled by his Lawyer, and made to ſuffer by ſuch monſtrous delays, that one may go from one Tropick to the other, and croſſe the Equinoctiall twenty times, before his ſute be done; […]"
- 2 To dig or redig a trench where one already exists. transitive
"The [fishing] technique was to clear the channel downstream from the lagoon for about twenty to forty yards, but not all the way to the salt water. A small "bridge" was left at the lower end of the lagoon. When holding pits had been dug near the end of the re-trenched channel and everyone was ready, the "bridge" was dug out and the outrush of water brought hundreds of fish along with it."
- 3 make a reduction, as in one's workforce wordnet
- 4 To cut down or reduce.; To terminate the employment of a worker to reduce the size of a workforce; to make redundant. specifically, transitive
"This section prescribes that an employer shall ordinarily retrench the workman who was the last person to be employed in that category, unless for reasons to be recorded in writing, the employer retrenches any other workman."
- 5 tighten one's belt; use resources carefully wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 To confine; to limit; to restrict. transitive
"They say of God—That He spreadeth forth the heavens as a tent to dwell in; and that as a garment, some time hence, He shall roll them together. These figures, ought they then to receive a retrenched interpretation? Ought they to be denuded of their oriental garb? Not so, […]"
- 7 To furnish with a retrenchment (a defensive work within a fortification). transitive
"to retrench bastions"
- 8 To abridge; to curtail. intransitive
"But this thy glory ſhall be ſoon retrench'd; / No more ſhalt thou by oracling abuſe / The Gentiles; henceforth Oracles are ceaſt, / And thou no more with Pomp and Sacrifice / Shalt by enquir'd at Delphos or elſewhere, / At leaſt in vain, for they ſhall find thee mute."
- 9 To take up a new defensive position. intransitive
"We must retrench and try to hold on long enough for products in development to reach the market or we will be out of business."
- 10 To live less expensively; to economize. intransitive
Antonyms
Example
"O conſider my caſe, moſt blisfull Queen, […] Diſpell thoſe Clouds which hover 'twixt my King and his higheſt Counſell, […] that my great Law-making Court be forced to turn no more to polemicall Committees, […] but that they may come again to the old Parliamentary Rode, To the path of their Predeceſſours, to conſult of means how to ſweep away thoſe Cobwebs that hang in the Courts of Juſtice, and to make the Laws run in their right Channell; to retrench exceſſive fees, and finde remedies for the future, that the poor Client be not ſo peeled by his Lawyer, and made to ſuffer by ſuch monſtrous delays, that one may go from one Tropick to the other, and croſſe the Equinoctiall twenty times, before his ſute be done; […]"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "retrench"?
Common synonyms include: abate, abbreviate, abrade, abridge, abstract, arrest.
How do you use "retrench" in a sentence?
O conſider my caſe, moſt blisfull Queen, […] Diſpell thoſe Clouds which hover 'twixt my King and his higheſt Counſell, […] that my great Law-making Court be forced to turn no more to polemicall Committees, […] but that they may come again to the old Parliamentary Rode, To the path of their Predeceſſours, to conſult of means how to ſweep away thoſe Cobwebs that hang in the Courts of Juſtice, and to make the Laws run in their right Channell; to retrench exceſſive fees, and finde remedies for the future, that the poor Client be not ſo peeled by his Lawyer, and made to ſuffer by ſuch monſtrous delays, that one may go from one Tropick to the other, and croſſe the Equinoctiall twenty times, before his ſute be done; […]
How do you pronounce "retrench"?
Pronounced /ɹɪˈtɹɛnt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Old French retranchier (“to get rid of, remove”) (modern French retrancher (“to cut out, take away; to cut off; to cut down”)), from re- (“again”) + tranchier, trenchier (“to cut”) (modern French trancher (“to slice”)); further etymology uncertain, but possibly either from Vulgar Latin *trinicāre (“cut in three parts”) (from the root trini from trēs (“three”), based on the model of duplicāre (“to double by dividing, split in two, tear”)), or from an alteration of Latin truncāre (“to maim by cutting off pieces; to truncate”), also possibly influenced by Gaulish *trincare (“to cut (the head)”). Compare English trench.
Etymology 2
From re- + trench.