# retrench

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɹɪˈtɹɛnt͡ʃ/

## Definitions
1. To cut down or reduce.
2. To cut down or reduce.
3. To confine; to limit; to restrict.
4. To furnish with a retrenchment (a defensive work within a fortification).
5. To abridge; to curtail.
6. To take up a new defensive position.
7. To live less expensively; to economize.

## Etymology
From Old French retranchier (“to get rid of, remove”) (modern French retrancher (“to cut out, take away; to cut off; to cut down”)), from re- (“again”) + tranchier, trenchier (“to cut”) (modern French trancher (“to slice”)); further etymology uncertain, but possibly either from Vulgar Latin *trinicāre (“cut in three parts”) (from the root trini from trēs (“three”), based on the model of duplicāre (“to double by dividing, split in two, tear”)), or from an alteration of Latin truncāre (“to maim by cutting off pieces; to truncate”), also possibly influenced by Gaulish *trincare (“to cut (the head)”). Compare English trench.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/retrench