RETRENCH
retrench
(verb) make a reduction, as in one’s workforce; “The company had to retrench”
retrench
(verb) tighten one’s belt; use resources carefully
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Verb
retrench (third-person singular simple present retrenches, present participle retrenching, simple past and past participle retrenched)
(transitive) To cut down or reduce.
(transitive, specifically) To terminate the employment of a worker to reduce the size of a workforce; to make redundant.
Synonyms: fire, let go, sack, Thesaurus:lay off
(transitive) To confine; to limit; to restrict.
(transitive, military) To furnish with a retrenchment (a defensive work within a fortification).
(intransitive) To abridge; to curtail.
(intransitive) To take up a new defensive position.
(intransitive) To live less expensively; to economize.
Etymology 2
Verb
retrench (third-person singular simple present retrenches, present participle retrenching, simple past and past participle retrenched)
(transitive) To dig or redig a trench where one already exists.
Anagrams
• trencher
Source: Wiktionary
Re*trench", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Retrenched; p. pr. & vb. n. Retrenching.] Etym: [OF. retrenchier, F. retrancher; pref. re- re- + OF. trenchier, F. trancher, to cut. See Trench.]
1. To cut off; to pare away. Thy exuberant parts retrench. Denham.
2. To lessen; to abridge; to curtail; as, to retrench superfluities or expenses. But this thy glory shall be soon retrenched. Milton.
3. To confine; to limit; to restrict. Addison. These figures, ought they then to receive a retrenched interpretation I. Taylor.
4. (Fort.)
Definition: To furnish with a retrenchment; as, to retrench bastions.
Syn.
– To lesen; diminish; curtail; abridge.
Re*trench", v. i.
Definition: To cause or suffer retrenchment; specifically, to cut down living expenses; as, it is more reputable to retrench than to live embarrassed.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
29 May 2024
PERESTROIKA
(noun) an economic policy adopted in the former Soviet Union; intended to increase automation and labor efficiency but it led eventually to the end of central planning in the Russian economy
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