dredged; dredging
1
a
: to dig, gather, or pull out with or as if with a dredge (see dredge entry 2)
dredging oysters in the bay
—often used with updredge up silt from the canal bottom
b
civil engineering
: to deepen (a waterway) with a machine that removes earth usually by buckets on an endless chain or a suction tube : to deepen with a dredge (see dredge entry 2 sense 2)
2
: to bring to light by deep searching
—often used with up
dredging up memories
dredged; dredging
: to coat by sprinkling (as with flour)
dredge the chicken in flour
The fish is dredged with a cornmeal mixture and fried.
Examples of dredge in a Sentence
Verb (1)
I've been dredging my memory bank, and I simply can't remember her name
Recent Examples on the Web
Catherine Jessee, Southern Living, 15 Mar. 2025
Bastianich’s tips include picking a firm, fresh eggplant, cutting it in thick slices, dredging them in flour and panfrying before draining, cooling, rolling, nestling in the sauce and baking until bubbly.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Mar. 2025
Rick Bragg, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 2025
Press the chicken into the mixed dredge, and rest for 30 minutes before frying.
—Alissa Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dredge
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Verb
It can also be used as a breading or dredge for frying.
—Catherine Jessee, Southern Living, 15 Mar. 2025
Bastianich’s tips include picking a firm, fresh eggplant, cutting it in thick slices, dredging them in flour and panfrying before draining, cooling, rolling, nestling in the sauce and baking until bubbly.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Mar. 2025
Noun
There should be almost none—no wet batter, no dip or dredge.
—Rick Bragg, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 2025
Press the chicken into the mixed dredge, and rest for 30 minutes before frying.
—Alissa Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dredge
Cite this Entry
“Dredge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dredge. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dredge
1 of 3 verb
dredged; dredging
1
a
: to dig, gather, or pull out with or as if with a dredge
dredged up scallops from the sea bottom
b
: to deepen (as a waterway) with a dredge
2
: to bring to light by deep searching
dredging up memories
dredge
2 of 3 noun1
: an iron frame with an attached net used especially to catch fish or shellfish
2
: a machine for removing earth usually by buckets on a continuous chain or by a suction tube
dredge
3 of 3 verb
dredged; dredging
: to coat (food) by sprinkling (as with flour)
Etymology
Noun
probably from Old English dragan "to pull, drag"
Verb
from obsolete dredge (noun) "a candied fruit," derived from early French dragee (same meaning), from Latin tragemata (plural) "candied fruits," from Greek tragēmata (same meaning), derived from trōgein "to gnaw"
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