drudge

[ druhj ]
See synonyms for drudge on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who does menial, distasteful, dull, or hard work.

  2. a person who works in a routine, unimaginative way.

verb (used without object),drudged, drudg·ing.
  1. to perform menial, distasteful, dull, or hard work.

Origin of drudge

1
1485–95; compare OE man's name Drycghelm helmet maker, equivalent to drycg (akin to drēogan to work) + helmhelm2

Other words for drudge

Other words from drudge

  • drudger, noun
  • drudg·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use drudge in a sentence

  • Women still drudge in separate kitchens and nurseries, as they have drudged for thousands of years.

  • She has stood there for a life-time and drudged and submitted and has done nothing for household or community advancement.

    The American Country Girl | Martha Foote Crow
  • I wish I could get vent in crying for her like you, but I can't; all the crying's been drudged and starved out of me long ago.

    The Queen of Hearts | Wilkie Collins
  • Rather would she have drudged as a poorly paid teacher in second-rate schools all the days of her life.

    The Rebellion of Margaret | Geraldine Mockler
  • He, the simpleton, had saddled himself with a family, and although he had drudged like a slave he had laid nothing aside.

British Dictionary definitions for drudge

drudge

/ (drʌdʒ) /


noun
  1. a person, such as a servant, who works hard at wearisome menial tasks

verb
  1. (intr) to toil at such tasks

Origin of drudge

1
C16: perhaps from druggen to toil

Derived forms of drudge

  • drudger, noun
  • drudgingly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012