dredge
dredge Lexical Profile
dredge Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To clear the bed of a harbor, river, or other area of water by scooping out mud, weeds, and sediment with a mechanical device.
"Engineers plan to dredge the silted canal so that larger barges can navigate through the lock safely."
To bring to light or mention something unpleasant, forgotten, or deeply buried in the past (usually followed by 'up').
"During the heated debate, neither candidate wanted to dredge up old controversies from a decade ago."
To coat or sprinkle food evenly with a dry powdered ingredient such as flour, cornmeal, breadcrumbs, or sugar prior to cooking.
"Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper, then lightly dredge them in flour before pan-frying."
• noun
An apparatus, machine, or boat equipped with a scoop or suction device used to clear mud, sand, or debris from the bottom of a river, harbor, or other body of water.
"The port authority deployed a heavy mechanical dredge to deepen the shipping channel before the cargo vessels arrived."
A heavy net or iron frame dragged along the seabed to gather bottom-dwelling shellfish such as oysters, scallops, or clams.
"The fishermen hauled up the oyster dredge and sorted the catch on the deck of the boat."
• Rhymes for dredge
Word Origin & Etymology
In its excavation sense, the word entered late Middle English via Scottish or Middle Dutch from a Germanic root related to 'drag'. The culinary sense of coating food with flour is a separate homonym derived from Middle English 'dregge', from Old French 'dragie', referring to a sweetmeat or spice mixture.