1. a long, narrow ditch dug in the ground
2. a protective ditch used by soldiers in warfare
Usage: military

1. to dig a trench or trenches
2. to encroach or infringe upon something
Usage: formal

Examples

• The workers dug a trench to lay the water pipes.
• Soldiers took cover in the muddy trenches during World War I.
• The irrigation trench carried water to the crops.
• They will trench around the foundation to prevent flooding.
• The new policy trenches on our constitutional rights.
• Heavy rains carved a deep trench in the hillside.