dredge

/drɛdʒ/
verb
  1. To clear out or remove mud, sand, or debris from the bottom of a river, harbor, or other body of water using a special machine.
    • The crew used a large machine to dredge the harbor so ships could dock safely.
    • They had to dredge the lake to remove tons of silt and trash.
    • Workers dredge the canal every few years to prevent flooding.
  2. To bring up or uncover something hidden or forgotten, often with effort.
    • The investigation dredged evidence that had been overlooked for years.
    • She dredged up a memory from her childhood that she had long buried.
    • The journalist tried to dredge old scandals from the politician's past.
  3. To coat or sprinkle food (such as meat or fish) with flour, sugar, or another dry ingredient before cooking.
    • Before frying the chicken, dredge each piece in seasoned flour.
    • The recipe says to dredge the fish fillets in cornmeal.
    • She dredged the doughnuts in powdered sugar while they were still warm.
Antonyms
noun
  1. A machine used to scoop or suck up mud, sand, and debris from the bottom of a body of water.
    • The old dredge sat rusting at the dock, no longer in use.
    • A large dredge was brought in to deepen the shipping channel.
    • The dredge worked slowly, pulling tons of sand from the riverbed.
What does "dredge" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean