dredge

[ drej ]

/ drɛdʒ /

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See synonyms for: dredge / dredging 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.

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Origin of dredge

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

Words nearby dredge

dreamy state, drear, dreary, dreck, drecksill, dredge, dredger, dredge up, dredging machine, Dred Scott Decision, dree

Other definitions for dredge (2 of 2)

dredge²

[ drej ]

/ drɛdʒ /

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

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

Origin of dredge

First recorded in 1590–1600; verb use of dredge (now obsolete or dialectal) “mixture of grains,” from late Middle English drag(g)e, dreg(g)e, draget(e), apparently to be identified with Middle English drag(g)e, dragie “sweet sauce, confection; mixture of grains, mix or company of people,” from Anglo-French drag(g)é, dragee, from Old French dragie, dragé; possibly related to dragée

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use dredge in a sentence

Among the necessary permits that have been the subject of much controversy is a federal Clean Water Act “dredge and fill” permit.
Federal Regulators Are Rewriting Environmental Rules So a Massive Pipeline Can Be Built|by Ken Ward Jr.|December 8, 2020|ProPublica
In some areas, small specially-designed dredges are used by recreational harvesters, with the size and shape of such dredges designated by state laws.
14 wild edibles you can pull right out of the ocean|By Bob McNally/Field & Stream|October 19, 2020|Popular-Science
In 1875, during an expedition for the Royal Society of London, the HMS Challenger dredged up 4-inch-long teeth from a depth of 14,000 feet near Tahiti.
Could an ancient megashark still lurk in the deep seas?|By Riley Black|October 15, 2020|Popular-Science
Microsoft’s Special Projects team operated the underwater data center for two years, and it took a full day to dredge it up and bring it to the surface.
Microsoft Had a Crazy Idea to Put Servers Under Water—and It Totally Worked|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|September 17, 2020|Singularity Hub

His team dredged sand from Delaware Bay, using it to rebuild two miles of beach.
Soggy coastal soils? Here’s why ecologists love them|Alison Pearce Stevens|September 17, 2020|Science News For Students
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
Dredge in a very little flour, and send up the ducks with the sauce round them.
Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode|Harriet A. de Salis
Cut up a pound of rump steak into pieces about an inch in size, season, and dredge them lightly with flour.
Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode|Harriet A. de Salis
It is just that I wonder if you want me to dredge this deeply into things I cannot be absolutely certain about.
Warren Commission (3 of 26): Hearings Vol. III (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
Hunter with the small hand-dredge brought up abundant samples of life from depths ranging to fifty fathoms.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
On September 14 Bickerton started to construct a hand-dredge, which was ready for use by the next evening.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson

British Dictionary definitions for dredge (1 of 2)

dredge¹

/ (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)

dredge²

/ (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

dredge

Origin of dredge

Words nearby dredge

Other definitions for dredge (2 of 2)

Origin of dredge

Words related to dredge

How to use dredge in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dredge (1 of 2)

Word Origin for dredge

British Dictionary definitions for dredge (2 of 2)

Word Origin for dredge