attrit vs retrench

attrit

verb
  • To engage in attrition; to quit or drop out. 

  • To be reduced in quantity through attrition. 

  • To lose, or to kill, troops by attrition due to sustained firepower. 

  • To wear down through attrition, especially mechanical attrition. 

noun
  • One who voluntarily or involuntarily leaves a company; a termed employee. 

retrench

verb
  • To cut down or reduce. 

  • To furnish with a retrenchment (a defensive work within a fortification). 

  • To dig or redig a trench where one already exists. 

  • To terminate the employment of a worker to reduce the size of a workforce; to make redundant. 

  • To abridge; to curtail. 

  • To live less expensively; to economize. 

  • To confine; to limit; to restrict. 

  • To take up a new defensive position. 

How often have the words attrit and retrench occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )