RETRENCH'MENT, noun 1. The act of lopping off; the act of removing what is superfluous; as the retrenchment of words or lines in a writing. 2. The act of curtailing, lessening or abridging; diminution; as the retrenchment of expenses. 3. In military affairs, any work raised to cover a post and fortify it against an enemy; such as fascines, gabions, sandbags and the like. Numerous remains of Roman retrenchments, constructed to cover the country -
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI