Meaning & use

retrenchment

noun·Advanced

A significant reduction in costs, spending, or staff, especially by an organization or government.

See it in a sentence

The company announced a period of retrenchment, cutting hundreds of jobs to save money.

Years of retrenchment left the university with far fewer faculty than a decade earlier.

A note on using this word

Retrenchment is common in business and economics, often describing layoffs or budget cuts made to survive a financial downturn.

Words with a similar meaning

cutbackdownsizing

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Words with an opposite meaning

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