What does "dredge" mean?
Any instrument used to gather or take by dragging; as:; A dragnet for taking up oysters, etc., from their beds.
Dredge
/dɹɛd͡ʒ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any instrument used to gather or take by dragging; as:; A dragnet for taking up oysters, etc., from their beds.
- Grammar: dredge is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: avulse, besprinkle, bore, bread.
- Useful contrasts: shoaly, bury, conceal.
- Usage evidence: I don't want to dredge up the past.
How to use "dredge"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dredge" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dredge" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dredge" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dredge" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dredge" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dredge", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any instrument used to gather or take by dragging; as:; A dragnet for taking up oysters, etc., from their beds.
- 2 A large shaker for sprinkling spices or seasonings during food preparation. countable
- 3 a power shovel to remove material from a channel or riverbed wordnet
- 4 Any instrument used to gather or take by dragging; as:; A dredging machine.
"The section includes also combination bucket and suction dredges, true suction dredgers, the Friihling dredge, the reclamation dredge, the longshoot dredge, the hopper barge, the self-propelling hopper, and the rock cutter."
- 5 A mixture of oats and barley. uncountable
"It is true that on the boulder clay of south Cambridgeshire they grew dredge, a mixture of oats and barley"
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Any instrument used to gather or take by dragging; as:; An iron frame, with a fine net attached, used in collecting animals living at the bottom of the sea.
- 7 The act of dredging.
"A dredge of the river is not possible at this time due to the strong currents and dangerous riptides which plague the St. Lawrence after the ice melts."
- 8 Very fine mineral matter held in suspension in water.
Verb
- 1 To make a channel deeper or wider using a dredge.
- 2 To sprinkle (food) with spices or seasonings, using a dredge. transitive
"Dredge the meat with the flour mixture you prepared earlier."
- 3 remove with a power shovel, usually from a bottom of a body of water wordnet
- 4 To bring something to the surface with a dredge.
"Subject to flooding by the six small rivers coming together just west of the city, the main river below the city has long been shallow and subject to silting. The Communists have both maintained the earlier pattern of dredging the river, and have built a bypass flood canal around the city on the south side to relieve flood pressures. Though dredging can keep the river navigable for small ships, a new artificial port, Sinkang, able to take 10,000 ton ships at all times, was created at T'ang-ku. This is kept open for about two months during winter by icebreakers."
- 5 search (as the bottom of a body of water) for something valuable or lost wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To unearth. transitive, usually
"to dredge up someone's unsavoury past"
- 7 cover before cooking wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"I don't want to dredge up the past."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dredge"?
Common synonyms include: avulse, besprinkle, bore, bread, breathe, brew.
How do you use "dredge" in a sentence?
I don't want to dredge up the past.
How do you pronounce "dredge"?
Pronounced /dɹɛd͡ʒ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Scots dreg-boat, dreg-bot (from Old English *dreċġ); or alternatively from Middle Dutch dregghe (“drag-net”), probably ultimately from the same root as drag.
Etymology 2
From Middle English dragge, from Old French dragee, dragie, from Latin tragēmata, from Ancient Greek τραγήματα (tragḗmata, “spices”), plural of τράγημα (trágēma, “dried fruit”).
Etymology 3
Variant spelling of Drage.