dreg

[dreg]

See more synonyms for dreg on Thesaurus.com

noun

dregs, the sediment of liquids; lees; grounds.
Usually dregs. the least valuable part of anything: the dregs of society.
a small remnant; any small quantity.

Origin of dreg

1250–1300; Middle English < Old Norse dreg yeast (plural dreggjar dregs); cognate with Old Swedish dräg dregs

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for dregs

Contemporary Examples

All the good stuff—the Oscar bait—comes out in November or December; the dregs are reserved for January and February.
‘A Field in England’ Is a Psychedelic Cinematic Trip
Andrew Romano
February 9, 2014
They are not interested in the dregs from my stash of clothes.
The Pointlessness of Some Disaster Charity After the Indian Floods
Dilip D’Souza
June 26, 2013
Having drunk the Clinton Global Initiative to the dregs, a hopey-changey hangover ensues.
Is It Over? A 2012 Clinton Global Initiative Postmortem
Matthew DeLuca
September 26, 2012
The fish dies and is brought back to life—along with grandpa—with the dregs of a bag of chips.
The 20 Best Super Bowl Commercials
The Daily Beast Video
February 7, 2011

Historical Examples

Malbone, greedy of emotion, was drinking to the dregs a passion that could have no to-morrow.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
But Della drained her draught of joy to the dregs, and then tilted her cup anew.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
The pimps of proxenetism are recruited from the dregs of society.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
There cling to him still the limitations and dregs of his brute life.
The Meaning of Evolution
Samuel Christian Schmucker
The sins of man are generally the dregs of his brute ancestry.
The Meaning of Evolution
Samuel Christian Schmucker

British Dictionary definitions for dregs

dregs

pl n

solid particles that tend to settle at the bottom of some liquids, such as wine or coffee
residue or remains
British slang a despicable person

Word Origin

C14 dreg, from Old Norse dregg; compare Icelandic dreggjar dregs, Latin fracēs oil dregs

dreg

noun

a small quantitynot a dreg of pity See also dregs

Word Origin

see dregs

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

Word Origin and History for dregs

n.

c.1300 (implied in surname Dryngedregges), from Old Norse dregg "sediment," from Proto-Germanic *drag- (cf. Old High German trestir, German Trester "grapeskins, husks"), from PIE *dher- (1) "to make muddy." Replaced Old English cognate dræst, dærst "dregs, lees." Figurative use is from 1530s.

dreg

n.

see dregs.

dreg

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Related Words

Examples from the Web for dregs

Contemporary Examples

All the good stuff—the Oscar bait—comes out in November or December; the dregs are reserved for January and February.

They are not interested in the dregs from my stash of clothes.

Having drunk the Clinton Global Initiative to the dregs, a hopey-changey hangover ensues.

The fish dies and is brought back to life—along with grandpa—with the dregs of a bag of chips.

Historical Examples

Malbone, greedy of emotion, was drinking to the dregs a passion that could have no to-morrow.

But Della drained her draught of joy to the dregs, and then tilted her cup anew.

The pimps of proxenetism are recruited from the dregs of society.

There cling to him still the limitations and dregs of his brute life.

The sins of man are generally the dregs of his brute ancestry.

dregs

Word Origin

dreg

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for dregs

n.

dreg

n.

Origin of dreg