trench
n. countablen. a long, narrow hole dug into the ground. You usually see these used for protection in war or for laying pipes and cables under the street.
n. a long, narrow excavation in the ground, typically used for military defense or the installation of infrastructure. In archaeological contexts, refers to a specific area of excavation used to examine soil layers.
Workers dug a deep trench to repair the broken water pipe.
Soldiers in the first world war spent months living in a muddy trench protected by sandbags.
The lead archaeologist directed the team to dig a trial trench across the site to determine the extent of the Roman foundations.
Borrowed into Middle English from Old French trenche. Doublet of tranche and traunch. Possible doublet of English: truncate
Commonly used with verbs like 'dig', 'excavate', or 'fortify'.