dredge

[ drej ]

/ drɛdʒ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dredge ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also called dredging machine. any of various powerful machines for dredging up or removing earth, as from the bottom of a river, by means of a scoop, a series of buckets, a suction pipe, or the like.

a barge on which such a machine is mounted.

a dragnet or other contrivance for gathering material or objects from the bottom of a river, bay, etc.

verb (used with object), dredged, dredg·ing.

to clear out with a dredge; remove sand, silt, mud, etc., from the bottom of.

to take, catch, or gather with a dredge; obtain or remove by a dredge.

verb (used without object), dredged, dredg·ing.

to use a dredge.

Verb Phrases

dredge up,

to unearth or bring to notice: We dredged up some old toys from the bottom of the trunk.
to locate and reveal by painstaking investigation or search: Biographers excel at dredging up little known facts.

RELATED WORDS

widen, clean, unearth, raise

Nearby words

drear, dreary, dreck, drecksill, dred scott decision, dredge, dredge up, dredger, dredging, dredging machine, dree

Origin of dredge

1425–75; late Middle English (Scots) dreg-, Old English *drecg(e); see dray, draw

Definition for dredge (2 of 2)

dredge

[ drej ]

/ drɛdʒ /

verb (used with object), dredged, dredg·ing. Cookery.

to sprinkle or coat with some powdered substance, especially flour.

Origin of dredge

1590–1600; v. use of dredge (now obsolete or dial.) mixture of grains, late Middle English dragge, dregge, apparently to be identified with Middle English drag(g)e, dragie (disyllabic) sweetmeat, confection < Anglo-French drag(g)é, dragee, Old French (see dragée); compare similar dual sense of Medieval Latin dragētum, dragium

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dredge

Remove some shallots from the buttermilk and dredge in the seasoned flour mixture.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They get $8 million to dredge the channel for pleasure boats to sail to Catalina Island.
Congress’ Gift That Keeps on Giving|P. J. O’Rourke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Let me go ahead and dredge this up before someone else does.
Coming Clean on Egypt|Michael Tomasky|August 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps some of them might dredge up some outrage over the message behind what Karzai did to the United States yesterday.
To Hell With Karzai|Leslie H. Gelb|March 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST

This whole project could be fruitful and dredge up even more dirt on Nixon.
President Obama Eyes New Oval Office While the White House Undergoes Renovations|Lauren Ashburn|February 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Wipe and split two large pork tenderloins in halves lengthwise; sprinkle with salt, pepper and dredge with flour.
Fifty-Two Sunday Dinners|Elizabeth O. Hiller
Shape into round balls the size of small apples, dredge in flour, and fry until brown in deep fat.
The Myrtle Reed Cook Book|Myrtle Reed
Dredge with sugar, and bake in moderate oven forty-five minutes.
The Story of Crisco|Marion Harris Neil
This town is the only locality in the State where this kind of dredge is used.
A Report upon the Mollusk Fisheries of Massachusetts|Commissioners on Fisheries and Game
Dip a strong clean cloth into boiling water, dredge it with flour, and tie it tightly over the mould or pudding-basin.
Miss Leslie's Lady's New Receipt-Book|Eliza Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for dredge (1 of 2)

dredge

/ (drɛdʒ) /

noun

Also called: dredger a machine, in the form of a bucket ladder, grab, or suction device, used to remove material from a riverbed, channel, etc

another name for dredger 1 (def. 1)

verb

to remove (material) from a riverbed, channel, etc, by means of a dredge

(tr) to search for (a submerged object) with or as if with a dredge; drag

Word Origin for dredge

C16: perhaps ultimately from Old English dragan to draw; see drag

British Dictionary definitions for dredge (2 of 2)

dredge

/ (drɛdʒ) /

verb

to sprinkle or coat (food) with flour, sugar, etc

Word Origin for dredge

C16: from Old French dragie, perhaps from Latin tragēmata spices, from Greek

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