redd

1

or red

[ red ]

verb (used with object),redd or redd·ed, redd·ing.Northern and Midland U.S.
  1. to put in order; tidy: to redd a room for company.

  2. to clear: to redd the way.

Origin of redd

1
before 900; apparently conflation of 2 words: Middle English (Scots ) reden to clear, clean up (a space, land), Old English gerǣdan to put in order (cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German rêden, reiden; akin to ready); and Middle English (Scots ) redden to rid, free, clear, Old English hreddan to save, deliver, rescue (cognate with Old Frisian hredda,German retten)

Other definitions for redd (2 of 2)

redd2
[ red ]

noun
  1. the spawning area or nest of trout or salmon.

Origin of redd

2
First recorded in 1640–50; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use redd in a sentence

  • Both wild and domestic ducks are destructive to spawn and almost live on the "redds" during the breeding season.

    Poachers and Poaching | John Watson
  • Another way of securing salmon and trout from the spawning "redds" is by means of "click-hooks."

    Poachers and Poaching | John Watson
  • In these, fish of every size were upon the gravel beds which constitute the spawning "redds."

    Poachers and Poaching | John Watson
  • Than netting, another way of securing salmon and trout from the spawning redds is by "click" hooks.

  • The eggs are then covered with gravel to a depth of several feet, such gravel heaps being known as "redds."

    Alaska | Ella Higginson

British Dictionary definitions for redd (1 of 2)

redd1

verbredds, redding, redd or redded
  1. (tr often foll by up) to bring order to; tidy (up)

noun
  1. the act or an instance of redding

Origin of redd

1
C15 redden to clear, perhaps a variant of rid

Derived forms of redd

  • redder, noun

British Dictionary definitions for redd (2 of 2)

redd2

/ (rɛd) /


noun
  1. a hollow in sand or gravel on a river bed, scooped out as a spawning place by salmon, trout, or other fish

Origin of redd

2
C17 (originally: spawn): of obscure origin

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