RETRENCH

v.

5 definitions — Webster’s Dictionary (1828)


1.
v.

To cut off; to pare away. Thy exuberant parts retrench. Denham.

2.
v.

To lessen; to abridge; to curtail; as, to retrench superfluities or expenses. But this thy glory shall be soon retrenched. Milton.

3.
v.

To confine; to limit; to restrict. Addison. These figures, ought they then to receive a retrenched interpretation I. Taylor.

4.
v.

To furnish with a retrenchment; as, to retrench bastions.

5.
v.

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