drudge

American  

[druhj] / drʌdʒ /

noun

1. a person who does menial, distasteful, dull, or hard work.

2. a person who works in a routine, unimaginative way.

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verb (used without object)

drudged, drudging

1. to perform menial, distasteful, dull, or hard work.

   Synonyms:

   slave, plod, grub, hack, toil

drudge British  

/ drʌdʒ /

noun

1. a person, such as a servant, who works hard at wearisome menial tasks

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verb

1. (intr) to toil at such tasks

Other Word Forms

• drudger noun
• drudgingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of drudge

1485–95; compare OE man's name Drycghelm helmet maker, equivalent to drycg (akin to drēogan to work) + helm helm ²

Example Sentences

Instead of Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren playing picture-perfect Mitch and Melanie, the original presents Nat Hocken, a disabled war veteran who works as a farm laborer, and whose wife remains a nameless domestic drudge.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

Not just subjective, but a drudge at times.

From Washington Post • Dec. 7, 2021

It’s a Cinderella story, minus everything but the drudge and the stepmother.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2021

In his line of work, the requirements of the season can at times seem like a drudge.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 10, 2021

I sat silent, recalling what a drudge she had been until Mr. Wopsle’s great-aunt successfully overcame that bad habit of living, so highly desirable to be got rid of by some people.

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens