(of an organization or individual) reduce costs or spending in response to economic difficulty:as a result of the recession the company retrenched [with object]:if people are forced to retrench their expenditure trade will suffer
[with object]Australian & South African make (an employee) redundant:if there are excess staff they should be retrenched
[with object] formal reduce (something) in extent or quantity:right-wing parties which seek to retrench the welfare state