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Definition of "entrench" [en•trench]

  • To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. (verb-transitive)
  • To fix firmly or securely: "Today managed care plans are entrenched in the economy, enrolling 61 percent of the population” ( Peter T. Kilborn). (verb-transitive)
  • To dig or occupy a trench. (verb-intransitive)
  • To encroach, infringe, or trespass. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "entrench" in a sentence
  • "Even worse, it often does not manifest until the virus has had time to "entrench" itself in the body, making anti-viral drugs somewhat less effective."
  • "This, officials say repeatedly, would only "entrench" the division between Gaza and the West Bank and as such leave the former for Egypt to worry about on its eastern borders."
  • "The party wants to change the rules to "entrench" the seats, meaning 75 per cent of MPs would have to agree if they were to be abolished."