Lexic.us

Definition of Retrench

1. Verb. Tighten one's belt; use resources carefully.

2. Verb. Make a reduction, as in one's workforce. "The company had to retrench"

Definition of Retrench

1. v. t. To cut off; to pare away.

2. v. i. To cause or suffer retrenchment; specifically, to cut down living expenses; as, it is more reputable to retrench than to live embarrassed.

Definition of Retrench

1. Verb. To cut down or reduce something ¹

2. Verb. To dig or redig a trench where one already was. ¹

3. Verb. To take up a new defensive position (from military term retrenchment) ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Retrench

1. to curtail [v -ED, -ING, -ES] - See also: curtail

Lexicographical Neighbors of Retrench

retreat retreat from reality retreatant retreatants retreated retreater retreaters retreatful retreating retreatlike

retreatment retreatments retreats retree retrees retrench (current term) retrenched retrenches retrenching retrenchment

retrenchments retriable retrial retrials retribute retributed retributer retributers retributes retributing

Literary usage of Retrench

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms by Frederic Sturges Allen (1920)
"... retrench; spec, melt, minimize, narrow, contract, shrink, shrivel, dwindle, lower, taper, shorten, cut, abbreviate, abridge, curtail, attenuate, dwarf, ..."

2. THE HISTORY OF THE LIFE OF THOMAS ELLWOOD by Thomas Ellwood, Charles George Crump (1900)
"... and entered him there in the highest and most chargeable condition of a Fellow Commoner, he found it needful to retrench his expenses elsewhere, ..."

3. A Philosophical Dictionary by Voltaire (1843)
"... and the electors, and put Í who had so much wit, had not enough in the balance against them the com- j to retrench these egregious faults ? ..."

4. The Memoirs of the Duke of Sully: Prime-minister to Henry the Great by Maximilien de Béthune Sully, Charlotte Lennox (1817)
"... the greater part contain only particulars of small importance: all these I consider as useless, and retrench them either wholly or in part: and I take ..."

5. The Extraordinary Black Book: An Exposition of Abuses in Church and State by John Wade (1832)
"There is, however, one resource to the Company, in lieu of the profits of the exclusive trade to China—they may retrench. Like their prototype ..."

6. The Diary of Ralph Thoresby... (1677-1724): Now First Published from the by Ralph Thoresby (1830)
"I entered into a resolution,—to redeem more time, particularly to retrench ray sleeping time, and getting an alarm put to the clock, and that set at my ..."

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