dredge up
Britishverb
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to bring to notice, esp with considerable effort and from an obscure, remote, or unlikely source
to dredge up worthless ideas
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to raise with or as if with a dredge
they dredged up the corpse from the lake
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
During one particularly tough patch that summer, the media managed to dredge up every stupid thing I had ever said publicly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Just five years ago, the same agency—then under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo—had denied the permit, citing the likelihood that it would dredge up toxic material.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025
Next I cycled through every squirrel-averse scent I could dredge up online.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2024
The Delaware trial isn’t about Hunter Biden’s foreign business affairs, though the proceedings were likely to dredge up dark, embarrassing and painful memories.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
“My husband was an important man, and I am pleased that you remember his films with such fondness, but he’s become so fragile. It’s not a good idea to dredge up the past for him.”
From "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
