Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Origin: Early French retrencher, from Old French trenchier 'to cut'

retrench

 verb
     
re‧trench [intransitive] formal
if a government or organization retrenches, it spends less money [= economize]
—retrenchment noun [uncountable and countable]
a government policy of retrenchment
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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