dredge

¹

[drej]

noun

1. 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.

2. a barge on which such a machine is mounted.

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

verb (used with object)

dredged, dredging 

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

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

verb (used without object)

dredged, dredging 

1. to use a dredge.

verb phrase

1. dredge up

   1. to unearth or bring to notice.

      We dredged up some old toys from the bottom of the trunk.

   2. to locate and reveal by painstaking investigation or search.

      Biographers excel at dredging up little known facts.

dredge

²

[drej]

verb (used with object)

Cooking.

dredged, dredging 

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

dredge

¹

/ drɛdʒ /

noun

1. 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

2. another name for dredger 1

verb

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

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

dredge

²

/ drɛdʒ /

verb

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dredge¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English ( Scots ) dreg, as in dreg-boat “dredge boat,” probably an irregular formation of Old English dragan draw ( def. ); dray ( def. )

Origin of dredge²

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dredge¹

C16: perhaps ultimately from Old English dragan to _draw ; see _drag

Origin of dredge²

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

Example Sentences

In white coverall suits and full-face respirators, hazmat workers went property by property sifting through the ashes to dredge up lead-acid batteries, tins of paint thinner and pesticide canisters.

From Los Angeles Times

Mikkelsen said the port is planning upgrades to wharfs and access roads, improved on-site utilities, and dredging and environmental restoration, among other efforts to accommodate the wind equipment.

From Los Angeles Times

Legal action has been launched to stop dredged sediment from being dumped in a protected marine area in East Sussex.

From BBC

That was their goal from the start, they just needed time to dredge up a pretext.

From Los Angeles Times

When their father decides to defend the accused teen, it dredges up past traumas for Charlie and Sam as well as secrets Pikesville residents and the Quinn family have hidden for years.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• clean 
• widen