I. dredge /dredʒ/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: Perhaps from Old English dragan 'to pull' ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to remove mud or sand from the bottom of a river, ↑ harbour etc, or to search for something by doing this:
They dredged for oysters.
2 . [transitive + with] to cover food lightly with flour, sugar etc
dredge something ↔ up phrasal verb
1 . to start talking again about something that happened a long time ago, especially something unpleasant:
Newsweek magazine dredged up some remarks which he made last year.
2 . to manage to remember something, or to feel or express an emotion, with difficulty:
Robertson tried to dredge up an image of her in his mind.
From somewhere she dredged up a brilliant smile.
3 . to pull something up from the bottom of a river, lake etc
II. dredg ‧ er /ˈdredʒə $ -ər/ BrE AmE ( also dredge ) noun [countable]
a machine or ship used for digging or removing mud and sand from the bottom of a river, lake etc