detrench

detrench verb: to cut off or slice; to sever.

Verb (1)

detrench (third-person singular simple present detrenches, present participle detrenching, simple past and past participle detrenched)

To cut off or slice; to sever.
- That I as well may furnish good mens needs / With bleſſings, as detrench th'abuſed ſtore / Of thankles caytiffes; crowne true vertues deeds / With honour, and on vice my vengeance poure.1653, William Basse, “Urania, the Woman in the Moone: In Four Cantoes, or Quarters”, in J[ohn] P[ayne] C[ollier], editor, The Pastorals and Other Workes of William Basse. […] (Miscellaneous Tracts...
- But these proceeding against him did not give plenary satisfaction to all, most cryed aloud for a Reformation in the Hierarchy it self, many would detrench from them their secular power, and votes in Parliament, name some were male-content unlesse the hole order were eradicated; and this was now...1655, Edward Dod, Henry Seile, The Reign of King Charles
To render something that was entrenched less thoroughly established.
- They found themselves caught up in a mesh of arguments about entrenching, re-entrenching and detrenching, with all the relevant permutations and combinations.1955, The Forum, page 2
- Worthwhile amendments to some detrenched clauses affecting the Judiciary in the Republican Constitution are being studied carefully, and Bills will be laid before Parliament during the current session.1980, Sierra Leone

detrench (third-person singular simple present detrenches, present participle detrenching, simple past and past participle detrenched)

To dig out and remove from a trench.
- In some cases these cables still become damaged and this results in lengths of cable having to be detrenched.1979, Institution of Electrical Engineers. Electronics Division, International Conference on Submarine Telecommunications Systems
- Ultimately, the system would have the capability to carry out the complete intervention process, from detrenching a pipeline to final inspection and corrosion protection.1994, Oceanic Engineering Society, Oceans '94: Oceans Engineering for Today's Technology and Tomorrow's Preservation, →ISBN
To force (an army) out of trenches, or to be so forced out.
- Verey lights, no longer needed by the detrenched army, soared with them, descending in wavy pools of radiance.1936, Henry Williamson, The Flax of Dream: A Novel in Four Books, page 748
- There was particularly heavy fighting in the Smolensk direction, where our units detrenched the enemy from their positions with a succession of counterattacks.1942, The World Almanac and Book of Facts, page 69

In which instant he beheld sidelong how the cruel murtherer smote with his spear that delicate lady, and detrenched and cut the two master-veins of her neck, so as she fell dying in her blood.1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, chapter 362, in The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC:
How do interests coalesce, how do they achieve or fail to achieve entrenchment, how are they detrenched when their day is done?1985, The Journal of Developing Areas, volume 20, page 106:
If a buried cable is damaged it will be necessary to detrench it before repair can be undertaken.2015, Jose Chesnoy, Undersea Fiber Communication Systems, →ISBN, page 642:
keep the defense on the move and force them to detrench, defending stack at a time, to ensure a quick success for the TOP-UP infantry attack.2004, Computer Gaming World - Volumes 138-143:

third-person singular present	detrenches
present participle	detrenching
past participle	detrenched
past	detrenched

From Middle English.

From de- + trench.

What does detrench mean?: Detrench means to cut off or slice; to sever.
How do you use detrench in a sentence?: In which instant he beheld sidelong how the cruel murtherer smote with his spear that delicate lady, and detrenched and cut the two master-veins of her neck, so as she fell dying in her blood.
What part of speech is detrench?: Detrench is a verb.
What is the past tense of detrench?: The past tense of detrench is detrenched.

Adapted from Wiktionary: detrench (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “detrench.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/detrench. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.