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Synonyms

muckrake

American  
[muhk-reyk] / ˈmʌkˌreɪk /

verb (used without object)

muckraked, muckraking
  1. to search for and expose real or alleged corruption, scandal, or the like, especially in politics.


muckrake British  
/ ˈmʌkˌreɪk /

noun

  1. an agricultural rake for spreading manure

"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

verb

  1. (intr) to seek out and expose scandal, esp concerning public figures

"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

Other Word Forms

  • muckraker noun
  • muckraking noun

Etymology

Origin of muckrake

First recorded in 1675–85; obsolete muck rake “a rake for piling up muck or dung.” The modern sense was first recorded in 1850–55. See muck, rake 1

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.

Woodward and Bernstein had just changed the world with their muckraking, and what was I doing with my brand-new degree in journalism?

From Los Angeles Times

Wells muckraked the failings of the press, in other words.

From Salon

Ron Kaye, a longtime Los Angeles Daily News editor known for civically inspired muckraking and boosting the San Fernando Valley — including a failed bid for the Valley to secede from L.A. — has died.

From Los Angeles Times

“For the past six years, the public has been reading and hearing a prosecution and muckraking narrative about this case that is simply fundamentally wrong,” Morrison wrote in an email.

From Seattle Times

Jack Newfield, an editor who elevated the Voice’s muckraking, compared his investigative reporting on a story about children who died from lead poisoning to “method acting.”

From Los Angeles Times