retrench
1Retrench — 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… …
2retrench — 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 …
3Retrench — 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] …
4retrench — 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 …
5retrench — 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 …
6retrench — curtail, abridge, *shorten, abbreviate Analogous words: *decrease, lessen, reduce, diminish …
7retrench — ► 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 …
8retrench — [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 …
9retrench — 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… …
10retrench — [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… …
