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   retrench

   /rɪˈtrɛn(t)ʃ/

   verb

   • 1. (of an organization or individual) reduce costs or spending in response to economic difficulty: "as a result of the recession the company retrenched" Similar economizecut backmake cutbacksmake savingsmake economiesreduce expenditurebe economicalbe sparingbe frugalbudgettighten one's belthusband one's resourcesdraw in one's hornssavescrimp and savecut corners
   • ▪ make (an employee) redundant: "if there are excess staff they should be retrenched"
   • ▪ reduce (something) in extent or quantity: "withering household incomes have caused families to retrench their spending" Similar reducecutcut backcut downcut back onparepare downslim downbring downmake reductions inmake cutbacks intrimprunewhittle away/downsalami-slicetake offdecreaselowerlessenshortencurtailtruncateshrinkdiminishminimizeinformal:slashaxe

   Word Origin late 16th century (in the now formal usage): from obsolete French retrencher, variant of retrancher, from re- (expressing reversal) + trancher ‘to cut, slice’.

   Scrabble Points: 13

   • R

     1

   • E

     1

   • T

     1

   • R

     1

   • E

     1

   • N

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   • C

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   • H

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