Dredge vs drudge

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Grammarist

Dredge and drudge are two words that are very close in spelling and pronunciation and are often confused. We will look at the difference between the definitions of dredge and drudge, where these words came from and some examples of their use in sentences.

Drudge means to do menial, hard work or a person who does menial, hard work. Drudge may be used as a noun or an intransitive verb, which is a verb that does not take an object. Related words are drudges, drudged, drudging, drudgery. The word drudge may be derived from either the Middle English word druggen which means to do monotonous work or the Old English word dreogan which means to endure, to suffer, to work.

Dredge means to scoop out mud, sand, weeds, trash or other unwanted materials from a bay, river, harbor or other body of water. Dredge may also describe the apparatus used to accomplish this job or a barge that employs such an apparatus. Dredge is used as a noun or a transitive verb, which is a verb that takes an object. The word dredge is most probably derived from the Middle Dutch word dregghe which means a grappling hook.

Examples

The reality of life for housewives in the 50s could be far from glamorous, but in this lively presentation Lucy transforms a domestic drudge into a glamour goddess. (The Northern Echo)

Steve Schragis is looking for the right audience: one that is interested in reliving the college experience without all the drudge work of studying, homework, and exams. (The Spokesman-Review)

“Thankfully, we had only planned on dredging November through December in our Ilwaco marina and, as a result, were able to mobilize our Ilwaco dredge to Chinook in mid-January.” (The Chinook Observer)

They must alert workers to stop the dredge whenever a manatee swims within 50 feet of any in-water activity. (Florida Today)