What does "trench" mean?
A long, narrow ditch or hole dug in the ground.
Trench
/tɹɛnt͡ʃ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A long, narrow ditch or hole dug in the ground.
- Grammar: trench is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abri, abysm, abyss, abyssal zone.
- Useful contrasts: causeways, cover, fill.
- Usage evidence: After we finish digging the trench, planting the flowers will be easy.
How to use "trench"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "trench" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "trench" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "trench" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "trench" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "trench" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abri" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "trench", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A long, narrow ditch or hole dug in the ground.
"The trenches for installing the underground cables were dug with a trencher."
- 2 a ditch dug as a fortification having a parapet of the excavated earth wordnet
- 3 A narrow excavation as used in warfare, as a cover for besieging or emplaced forces.
"The soldiers in the trenches rely on logistical support."
- 4 any long ditch cut in the ground wordnet
- 5 A pit, usually rectangular with smooth walls and floor, excavated during an archaeological investigation.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 a long steep-sided depression in the ocean floor wordnet
- 7 A trench coat. informal
"I was the first person in my high school to wear a trench and fedora constantly, and Ben was one of the first to wear a black trench."
Verb
- 1 To invade, especially with regard to the rights or the exclusive authority of another; to encroach. usually
"Shee is the Judge, Thou Executioner, Or if thou needs would'st trench upon her power, Thou mightst have yet enjoy'd thy crueltie, With some more thrift, and more varietie."
- 2 dig a trench or trenches wordnet
- 3 To excavate an elongated pit for protection of soldiers and or equipment, usually perpendicular to the line of sight toward the enemy.
"No more shall trenching war channel her fields."
- 4 cut a trench in, as for drainage wordnet
- 5 To excavate an elongated and often narrow pit.
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 set, plant, or bury in a trench wordnet
- 7 To have direction; to aim or tend.
"the reason and consequence thereof may trench to point of estate"
- 8 cut or carve deeply into wordnet
- 9 To cut; to form or shape by cutting; to make by incision, hewing, etc.
"The wide wound that the boar had trenched / In his soft flank."
- 10 fortify by surrounding with trenches wordnet
- 11 To cut furrows or ditches in.
"to trench land for the purpose of draining it"
- 12 impinge or infringe upon wordnet
- 13 To dig or cultivate very deeply, usually by digging parallel contiguous trenches in succession, filling each from the next.
"to trench a garden for certain crops"
Proper Noun
- 1 A suburb of Telford, Telford and Wrekin borough, Shropshire, England (OS grid ref SJ6912). countable, uncountable
- 2 A habitational surname. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"After we finish digging the trench, planting the flowers will be easy."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "trench"?
Common synonyms include: abri, abysm, abyss, abyssal zone, adit, air-raid shelter.
How do you use "trench" in a sentence?
After we finish digging the trench, planting the flowers will be easy.
How do you pronounce "trench"?
Pronounced /tɹɛnt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Borrowed into Middle English from Old French trenche. Doublet of tranche and traunch. Possible doublet of English: truncate
Etymology 2
From trench.