clean the bed of (a harbor, river, or other area of water) by scooping out mud, weeds, and rubbish with a dredge., bring up or clear (something) from a river, harbor, or other area of water with a dredge., search for something by digging through a lot of detail or information.

dredge something up, dredge the bottom of the barrel, dredge one's memory

Formal and Informal Expressions of dredge

In different contexts, you can replace 'dredge' with suitable alternatives. In a more formal setting, 'excavate, remove' is apt. In informal speech or writing, 'dig up, fish out' is a commonplace synonym.

dredge: Explore its Definition & Usage

dredge Definition

1clean the bed of (a harbor, river, or other area of water) by scooping out mud, weeds, and rubbish with a dredge.
2bring up or clear (something) from a river, harbor, or other area of water with a dredge.
3search for something by digging through a lot of detail or information.

Using dredge: Examples

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with how "dredge" can be used in various situations through the following examples!

Example
The river was dredged to allow larger boats to pass through.
Example
The workers dredged up a bicycle from the bottom of the canal.
Example
I had to dredge through hundreds of pages of legal documents to find the relevant information.

dredge Synonyms and Antonyms

Synonyms for dredge

Antonyms for dredge

Phrases with dredge

dredge something up
to bring something back to people's attention, especially something unpleasant that happened in the past
Example
I wish you wouldn't keep dredging up the past.
dredge the bottom of the barrel
to use the last and worst of one's resources
Example
We've already hired all the good candidates; now we're dredging the bottom of the barrel.
dredge one's memory
to try to remember something
Example
I had to dredge my memory to recall the name of my childhood friend.

Origins of dredge

from Middle Dutch 'dregghe', meaning 'grapnel'

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Summary: dredge in Brief

The verb 'dredge' [drej] refers to cleaning or clearing an area of water by scooping out mud, weeds, and rubbish. It can also mean searching for something by digging through a lot of detail or information. Examples include 'The river was dredged to allow larger boats to pass through,' and 'I had to dredge through hundreds of pages of legal documents to find the relevant information.' Phrases like 'dredge something up' and 'dredge the bottom of the barrel' denote bringing something back to attention and using the last and worst of one's resources, respectively.