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.
a barge on which such a machine is mounted.
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.
to clear out with a dredge; remove sand, silt, mud, etc., from the bottom of.
to take, catch, or gather with a dredge; obtain or remove by a dredge.
verb (used without object),dredged,dredg·ing.
to use a dredge.
Verb Phrases
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
1425–75; late Middle English (Scots ) dreg-,Old English *drecg(e); see dray, draw
verb (used with object),dredged,dredg·ing.Cooking.
to sprinkle or coat with some powdered substance, especially flour.
Origin of dredge
2
1590–1600; v. use of dredge (now obsolete or dial.) mixture of grains, late Middle English dragge, dregge, apparently to be identified with Middle English drag(g)e, dragie (disyllabic) sweetmeat, confection <Anglo-French drag(g)é, dragee,Old French (see dragée); compare similar dual sense of Medieval Latin dragētum, dragium
In 1875, during an expedition for the Royal Society of London, the HMS Challenger dredged up 4-inch-long teeth from a depth of 14,000 feet near Tahiti.
Could an ancient megashark still lurk in the deep seas?|By Riley Black|October 15, 2020|Popular Science
Microsoft’s Special Projects team operated the underwater data center for two years, and it took a full day to dredge it up and bring it to the surface.
Microsoft Had a Crazy Idea to Put Servers Under Water—and It Totally Worked|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|September 17, 2020|Singularity Hub
His team dredged sand from Delaware Bay, using it to rebuild two miles of beach.
Soggy coastal soils? Here’s why ecologists love them|Alison Pearce Stevens|September 17, 2020|Science News For Students
Remove some shallots from the buttermilk and dredge in the seasoned flour mixture.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They get $8 million to dredge the channel for pleasure boats to sail to Catalina Island.
Congress’ Gift That Keeps on Giving|P. J. O’Rourke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Let me go ahead and dredge this up before someone else does.
Coming Clean on Egypt|Michael Tomasky|August 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps some of them might dredge up some outrage over the message behind what Karzai did to the United States yesterday.
To Hell With Karzai|Leslie H. Gelb|March 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This whole project could be fruitful and dredge up even more dirt on Nixon.
President Obama Eyes New Oval Office While the White House Undergoes Renovations|Lauren Ashburn|February 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Wipe and split two large pork tenderloins in halves lengthwise; sprinkle with salt, pepper and dredge with flour.
Fifty-Two Sunday Dinners|Elizabeth O. Hiller
Shape into round balls the size of small apples, dredge in flour, and fry until brown in deep fat.
The Myrtle Reed Cook Book|Myrtle Reed
Dredge with sugar, and bake in moderate oven forty-five minutes.
The Story of Crisco|Marion Harris Neil
This town is the only locality in the State where this kind of dredge is used.
A Report upon the Mollusk Fisheries of Massachusetts|Commissioners on Fisheries and Game
Dip a strong clean cloth into boiling water, dredge it with flour, and tie it tightly over the mould or pudding-basin.
Miss Leslie's Lady's New Receipt-Book|Eliza Leslie
British Dictionary definitions for dredge (1 of 2)
dredge1
/ (drɛdʒ) /
noun
Also called: dredgera machine, in the form of a bucket ladder, grab, or suction device, used to remove material from a riverbed, channel, etc
another name for dredger 1 (def. 1)
verb
to remove (material) from a riverbed, channel, etc, by means of a dredge
(tr)to search for (a submerged object) with or as if with a dredge; drag
Word Origin for dredge
C16: perhaps ultimately from Old English dragan to draw; see drag
British Dictionary definitions for dredge (2 of 2)
dredge2
/ (drɛdʒ) /
verb
to sprinkle or coat (food) with flour, sugar, etc
Word Origin for dredge
C16: from Old French dragie, perhaps from Latin tragēmata spices, from Greek