retrench
11retrench — [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… …
12retrench — verb a) To cut down or reduce something We must retrench and try to hold on long enough for products in development to reach the market or we will be out of business. b) To dig or redig a trench where one already was …
13retrench — re|trench [ rı trentʃ ] verb 1. ) intransitive to reduce costs or the amount that you spend, in order to save money: Competition from cheaper imports is forcing manufacturers to retrench. 2. ) transitive AUSTRALIAN to stop employing someone… …
14retrench — [[t]rɪtre̱ntʃ[/t]] retrenches, retrenching, retrenched VERB If a person or organization retrenches, they spend less money. [FORMAL] Shortly afterwards, cuts in defence spending forced the aerospace industry to retrench. Syn: cut back, economize …
15retrench — verb 1) we have to retrench Syn: economize, cut back, make cutbacks, make savings, make economies, reduce expenditure, be economical, be frugal, tighten one s belt 2) services have to be retrenched Syn: reduce, cut …
16retrench — verb Etymology: obsolete French retrencher (now retrancher), from Middle French retrenchier, from re + trenchier to cut Date: 1596 transitive verb 1. a. cut down, reduce b. to cut out ; excise …
17retrench — retrenchable, adj. retrencher, n. /ri trench /, v.t. 1. to cut down, reduce, or diminish; curtail (expenses). 2. to cut off or remove. 3. Mil. to protect by a retrenchment. v.i. 4. to economize; reduce expenses: They retrenched by eliminating… …
18retrench — Synonyms and related words: abate, abbreviate, abrade, abridge, abstract, arrest, bate, bob, boil down, bridle, capsulize, check, clip, compress, condense, constrain, contain, contract, control, cool, cool off, crop, curb, curtail, curtail… …
19retrench — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. cut [down], reduce, decrease, curtail; economize; cut back. See economy, deduction. II (Roget s IV) v. Syn. save, conserve, scrimp, curtail; see economize …
20retrench — re|trench [rıˈtrentʃ] v [i]formal [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: Early French retrencher, from Old French trenchier to cut ] if a government or organization retrenches, it spends less money = ↑economize >retrenchment n [U and C] ▪ a government… …
