Retrench — Re*trench , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Retrenched}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Retrenching}.] [OF. retrenchier, F. retrancher; pref. re re + OF. trenchier, F. trancher, to cut. See {Trench}.] 1. To cut off; to pare away. [1913 Webster] Thy exuberant parts… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
retrench — re‧trench [rɪˈtrentʆ] verb [intransitive] formal FINANCE ECONOMICS if a company, industry, or government retrenches, it spends less money: • Defense companies are retrenching and have scaled back orders. retrenchment … Financial and business terms
Retrench — Re*trench , v. i. To cause or suffer retrenchment; specifically, to cut down living expenses; as, it is more reputable to retrench than to live embarrassed. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
retrench — I verb abridge, be economical, be frugal, circumcidere, clip, confine, contrahere, curtail, cut, cut down, cut short, decrease, deduct, delete, diminish, economize, lessen, limit, lop, pare, pinch, practice economy, prune, reduce, reduce expenses … Law dictionary
retrench — 1590s, dig a new trench as a second line of defense, from Fr. retrencher to cut off, from re back (see RE (Cf. re )) + O.Fr. trenchier to cut. Sense of cut down, reduce (expenses, etc.) is from 1620s … Etymology dictionary
retrench — curtail, abridge, *shorten, abbreviate Analogous words: *decrease, lessen, reduce, diminish … New Dictionary of Synonyms
retrench — ► VERB 1) reduce costs or spending in response to economic difficulty. 2) chiefly Austral. make (an employee) redundant in order to reduce costs. 3) formal reduce or diminish. DERIVATIVES retrenchment noun. ORIGIN French retrancher cut out … English terms dictionary
retrench — [rē trench′] vt. [MFr retrencher: see RE & TRENCH] 1. to cut down or reduce (esp. expenses); curtail 2. to cut off or out; omit or delete vi. to reduce expenses; economize … English World dictionary
retrench — UK [rɪˈtrentʃ] / US verb Word forms retrench : present tense I/you/we/they retrench he/she/it retrenches present participle retrenching past tense retrenched past participle retrenched 1) [intransitive] to reduce costs or the amount that you… … English dictionary
retrench — [16] Retrench originally meant literally ‘dig a new trench as a second line of defence’. It was borrowed from early modern French retrencher, a descendant of Old French retrenchier. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix re ‘again’ and… … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
