trenching
Cutting narrow ditches
Trenching is the act of digging long, narrow excavations in the ground.
It's done for practical purposes like laying pipes, cables, or drainage systems, or for agricultural irrigation.
In military contexts, trenching refers to the construction of defensive fortifications—ditches soldiers can occupy for protection.
The word also applies to a gardening technique where soil is deeply dug and turned to improve growing conditions.
The crew spent two days trenching for the new sewer line.
Removing earth below
- ditchShallow excavated channel
- backhoeHinged-arm excavating machine
- shovelTool for moving earth
- spadeFlat-bladed digging implement
excavator · earthmoving · groundwork · soil · grading · channel · burrow · foundation
Heavy-duty woven line
- drainageLiquid removal system
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- sewerageWastewater removal infrastructure
- conduitTube conveying fluid or cables
plumbing · waterworks · fiber-optic · telecommunications · installation · underground · sanitation · stormwater
Liquid removal system
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- furrowNarrow trench in earth
- ditchingHastily discarding something
- waterloggingSoil oversaturated with moisture
digging
Removing earth below
spade · excavator · earthmoving · groundwork · soil · grading · channel · burrow · foundation · cut
cable
Heavy-duty woven line
- drainageLiquid removal system
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- sewerageWastewater removal infrastructure
conduit · plumbing · waterworks · fiber-optic · telecommunications · installation · underground · sanitation · stormwater · wastewater
drainage
Liquid removal system
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- furrowNarrow trench in earth
- ditchingHastily discarding something
foxhole
Military defensive excavation
- dugoutCarved-log canoe
- no-man's-landUnclaimed disputed territory
- frontlineCombat's forward position
sapper · bunker · parapet · siege · warfare · combat · infantry · artillery · mortar · barricade
earthwork
Constructed soil structure
- rampartFortified defensive wall
- defensiveProtective or easily threatened
- bastionFortified defensive position
bulwark · palisade · stockade · redoubt · barricade · moat · embankment · breastwork · revetment · fieldwork
- geotechnicssoil, soil type, soil classification, soil structure, subsurface
- siteworkclearing, grubbing, excavation, earthmoving, earth moving
- manual laborfarming, lifting, carrying, shoveling, loading
- excavationdig, excavation, excavating, excavator, digging
- archaeologyexcavation, dig site, archaeologist, dig, archaeological digs
- Water Engineeringdams, levees, canals, aqueducts, spillways
trenchingbackfilling
Replacing removed earth
filling · infilling · burying · covering · compacting