English

Verb

retrench ‎(third-person singular simple present retrenches, present participle retrenching, simple past and past participle retrenched)

1. To cut down or reduce.
   • Denham

     Thy exuberant parts retrench.

2. To abridge; to curtail.
   • Milton

     But this thy glory shall be soon retrenched.

3. To confine; to limit; to restrict.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Addison to this entry?)

   • I. Taylor

     These figures, ought they then to receive a retrenched interpretation?

4. To furnish with a retrenchment (defensive work within a fortification).

   to retrench bastions

5. To take up a new defensive position.

   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.

   • 2012, The Economist, Private Equity: Keep Calm and Carry On

     International firms could decide it is not cost-effective to keep open their other European offices and retrench to London.

Etymology 2

re- +‎ trench

Verb

retrench ‎(third-person singular simple present retrenches, present participle retrenching, simple past and past participle retrenched)

1. To dig or redig a trench where one already was.

Anagrams

• trencher