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entrench. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
entrench, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Mid-16th century. en- + trench
Pronunciation
Verb
entrench (third-person singular simple present entrenches, present participle entrenching, simple past and past participle entrenched) (transitive, intransitive)
- (construction, archaeology) To dig or excavate a trench; to trench.
- (military) To surround or provide with a trench, especially for defense; to dig in.
- The army entrenched its camp, or entrenched itself.
- (figuratively) To establish a substantial position in business, politics, etc.
- Senator Cornpone was able to entrench by spending millions on each campaign.
2009, Andrew B. Fisher, Matthew O'Hara, “Forward”, in Andrew B. Fisher, Matthew O'Hara, editors, Imperial Subjects: Race and Identity in Colonial Latin America, page 4:Given these entrenched ideological assumptions about the colonial order, it is no wonder that the state and those groups with an interest in the status quo viewed with suspicion and hostility any challenges to the fixed and "natural" boundaries between different sorts of people.
2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 September 2013:For London to have its own exclusive immigration policy would exacerbate the sense that immigration benefits only certain groups and disadvantages the rest. It would entrench the gap between London and the rest of the nation. And it would widen the breach between the public and the elite that has helped fuel anti-immigrant hostility.
- To invade; to encroach; to infringe or trespass; to enter on, and take possession of, that which belongs to another; usually followed by on or upon.
- To cut in; to furrow; to make trenches in or upon.
c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :It was this very sword entrenched it.
- (figuratively) To become completely absorbed in and fully accept one's beliefs, even in the face of evidence against it and refusing to be reasoned with.
Synonyms
Translations
establish financial position