I. ˈdrej verb
( dredged ; dredg·ing )
Date: 1508
transitive verb
1.
a. : to dig, gather, or pull out with or as if with a dredge — often used with up
b. : to deepen (as a waterway) with a dredging machine
2. : to bring to light by deep searching — often used with up
dredging up memories
intransitive verb
1. : to use a dredge
2. : to search deeply
• dredg·er noun
II. noun
Etymology: perhaps from Old English * drecge; akin to Old English dræge dragnet, dragan to draw
Date: 1602
1. : an apparatus usually in the form of an oblong iron frame with an attached bag net used especially for gathering fish and shellfish
2. : a machine for removing earth usually by buckets on an endless chain or a suction tube
3. : a barge used in dredging
III. transitive verb
( dredged ; dredg·ing )
Etymology: obsolete dredge, noun, sweetmeat, from Middle English drage, drege, from Anglo-French dragee, modification of Latin tragemata sweetmeats, from Greek tragēmata, plural of tragēma sweetmeat, from trōgein to gnaw
Date: 1596
: to coat (food) by sprinkling (as with flour)
• dredg·er noun