dredge

1
[ drej ]
See synonyms for: dredgedredging on Thesaurus.com

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.

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

verb (used with object),dredged, dredg·ing.
  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, dredg·ing.
  1. to use a dredge.

Verb Phrases
  1. dredge up,

    • to unearth or bring to notice: We dredged up some old toys from the bottom of the trunk.

    • to locate and reveal by painstaking investigation or search: Biographers excel at dredging up little known facts.

Origin of dredge

1
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; see also dray

Words Nearby dredge

Other definitions for dredge (2 of 2)

dredge2
[ drej ]

verb (used with object),dredged, dredg·ing.Cooking.
  1. to sprinkle or coat with some powdered substance, especially flour.

Origin of dredge

2
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

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

How to use dredge in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dredge (1 of 2)

dredge1

/ (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 (def. 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

Origin of dredge

1
C16: perhaps ultimately from Old English dragan to draw; see drag

British Dictionary definitions for dredge (2 of 2)

dredge2

/ (drɛdʒ) /


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

Origin of dredge

2
C16: from Old French dragie, perhaps from Latin tragēmata spices, from Greek

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