trench

IPA/trentʃ/
KK[trˈɛntʃ]IPA/trentʃ/

trench — noun

  • trenchsingular
  • trenchesplural

1. a deep, narrow ditch made for soldiers to take cover during a battle, giving the

1.nounB1
Definition

a deep, narrow ditch made for soldiers to take cover during a battle, giving them a protected spot from which to fight

Example

During the long winter, the soldiers lived in muddy trenches and rarely saw the sun.

typical context: trench warfare

Walid's grandfather fought from a trench in northern France during the First World War.

Common collocations
  • dig a trench
  • front-line trench
  • enemy trench
  • trench network
  • in the trenches
Synonyms
  • foxhole

    a small hole for one or two soldiers, not a long connected ditch

  • dugout

    a covered shelter built into the side of a trench

Usage Note

Often used in the plural (trenches) to name a connected system of defensive ditches. Most common in writing about the First and Second World Wars.

Common Mistakes

The farmer dug a trench to store his vegetables.
The farmer dug a root cellar to store his vegetables.
a trench is an open ditch, not a covered storage space.

2. a narrow channel cut into the earth that carries water away or marks where one p

2.nounB1
Definition

a narrow channel cut into the earth that carries water away or marks where one piece of land ends and another begins

Example

Iris dug a shallow trench around the vegetable patch so the rainwater would reach the plants.

adjective collocation: shallow trench

Heavy rain filled the drainage trench behind the school, and a worker had to clear it by hand.

Common collocations
  • dig a trench
  • drainage trench
  • shallow trench
  • narrow trench
  • trench along
Synonyms
  • ditch

    a more general term for any long open channel along the ground

  • channel

    often refers to a wider or more permanent waterway

  • gutter

    a narrow channel along a road edge or roof, not across open land

Usage Note

Distinguish from noun/1: this sense names civilian channels for water or boundaries, not military fortifications. Often paired with adjectives like shallow, narrow, or drainage.

Common Mistakes

The soldiers hid in a drainage trench for safety.
The soldiers hid in a military trench for safety.
a drainage trench is open and made for water, not for taking cover.

3. a long, very deep valley with steep sides on the floor of an ocean, usually form

3.nounB2
Definition

a long, very deep valley with steep sides on the floor of an ocean, usually formed where two of the earth's plates meet

Example

The Mariana Trench is the deepest known point in the world's oceans.

proper noun: Mariana Trench

Vikram's team discovered a new species of fish living at the bottom of the ocean trench.

Common collocations
  • ocean trench
  • deep-sea trench
  • sea-floor trench
  • Mariana Trench
Synonyms
  • abyss

    a more general term for any very deep, seemingly bottomless space

  • trough

    a long, narrow depression but typically shallower and wider than a trench

Usage Note

Nearly always refers to deep-sea geological formations. The most famous example is the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean.

trench — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A trench is a long, narrow ditch dug by soldiers, usually stretching across a battlefield so troops can move and fight from a protected line. A foxhole is a much smaller hole, often for one or two soldiers, dug quickly for immediate cover during combat; it is not joined to other positions. A dugout is a shelter built into the side or floor of a trench, often roofed over, where soldiers sleep, eat, and store supplies. For example, you might say, 'The soldiers spent the night in a muddy trench, taking turns to sleep in the dugout next to it.' In short, 'trench' names the long defensive line, 'foxhole' names a single short-term position, and 'dugout' names a protected room set inside a trench system.

trench ↗foxhole ↗dugout ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • dig a trench
  • in the trenches
  • trench warfare

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'trench' came into English from Old French 'trenchier', meaning 'to cut' or 'to carve'. That French verb in turn came from Latin 'truncare', meaning 'to cut off' or 'to lop', which is also the source of the English word 'truncate'. The noun sense — a long cut or ditch in the ground — appeared in English in the 1300s and was first used for farming and drainage channels long before its military meaning. The deep-sea geological sense emerged in the early 1900s as explorers began to map the ocean floor.