dredge

Scoop the riverbed

Dredge has two distinct meanings.

One is to scoop up material from the bottom of a body of water, either to deepen it or to search for something: They dredged the river for the missing weapon.

To dredge up old memories or grievances is to bring them back to the surface.

The other dredge is a cooking term—to coat food lightly in flour, breadcrumbs, or sugar before cooking: Dredge the chicken in seasoned flour before frying.

excavation

backhoe

Hinged-arm excavating machine

excavatorMachine that digs earth
bulldozerBladed vehicle pushing earth
earthmoverHeavy digging machinery

trencher · shovel · digging · quarry · mine · construction · foundation · soil · tunneling · earthworks

sediment

silt

Waterborne earth particles

sludgeSemi-solid waste material
mudWet soil mixture
debrisScattered broken fragments

sand · gravel · spoil · tailings · turbidity · dewatering · contaminants · pollutants · ecosystem · environmental impact

cooking

flour

Milled grain powder

coatingApplied surface covering
breadingCoating food before frying
seasoningSubstance improving food taste

breadcrumbs · panko · cornmeal · batter · egg wash · crispy · golden · cutlets · deep-fry · sautéing

waterway

channel

Passage for transmission

harborSafe anchorage for ships
portDocking place for ships
marinaRecreational vessel harbor

riverbed · canal · navigation · shoal · depth · clearance · silt · sediment · desilting · scouring

shellfish

trawl

Drag net for fish

seabedUnderwater terrain below
benthicOf the sea bottom
bycatchNon-target species caught accidentally

haul · catch · trawler · shellfish · harvesting · bottom · rake · basket · mesh · deck

salvage

shipwreck

Destroyed vessel at sea

treasureValued wealth or keepsake
underwaterBelow the surface
artifactsHuman-made historical objects

relics · salvage · submerged · diving · maritime · recovery · exploration · wreckage · sunken · retrieval

Categories

cooking termsbaste, baking, blanch, braise, roasting
investigatinginvestigate, examine, inspect, probe, search
dig outunearth, excavate, burrow, tunnel, shovel
gold mininggold pan, pan, panning, nuggets, gold nugget
Mining Heritagecolliery, coal town, mining town, mining settlement, mining camp
sportfishingmarlin, sailfish, tuna, billfish, swordfish

Opposites

excavation/removal action

dredgefill

Make something full

deposit · dump · bury · backfill · silt up

bringing to surface/attention

dredgebury

Place beneath soil

hide · conceal · suppress · cover up · submerge

effort and thoroughness

Failure to provide care

abandon · leave alone · ignore · overlook · skip

Phrases

dredges upRetrieves from below
dredging upRetrieving from below
dredged upRetrieved from below

Family

dredging, dredger, dredged, dredge up, dredges, dredgers, dredgings

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G