trench warfare
noun
: warfare in which the opposing forces attack and counterattack from a relatively permanent system of trenches protected by barbed-wire entanglements
Examples of trench warfare in a Sentence
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At these gatherings, Tempest trained his eyes on the audience:
One way of appreciating the effect of trench warfare was to watch carefully the rows of faces of the infantrymen . . .
—
Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 13 July 2025
This conflict, ensnared in trench warfare, is reminiscent of the battlefields of Europe in World War I, where the machine gun and tank notably became revolutions in military affairs; the small drone is this generation’s change to modern warfare.
—Bill Edwards, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
In 2022, observers described combat in Ukraine as 20th-century-style trench warfare, dependent on tanks.
—Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Atlantic, 27 May 2025
Whereas a century ago millions died over four years of trench warfare, now the same number could be killed in a matter of minutes.
—Ernest J. Moniz, Foreign Affairs, 15 Dec. 2020
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Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 13 July 2025
This conflict, ensnared in trench warfare, is reminiscent of the battlefields of Europe in World War I, where the machine gun and tank notably became revolutions in military affairs; the small drone is this generation’s change to modern warfare.
—Bill Edwards, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
In 2022, observers described combat in Ukraine as 20th-century-style trench warfare, dependent on tanks.
—Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Atlantic, 27 May 2025
Whereas a century ago millions died over four years of trench warfare, now the same number could be killed in a matter of minutes.
—Ernest J. Moniz, Foreign Affairs, 15 Dec. 2020
See All Example Sentences for trench warfare
Cite this Entry
“Trench warfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trench%20warfare. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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