dredge up
phrasal verb
dredged up; dredging up; dredges up
: to start talking or thinking again about (something unpleasant that happened a long time ago)
Reporters dredged up the fact that the senator avoided the military draft.
She didn't like to dredge up bad memories.
Examples of dredge up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Officials said some of the debris will likely be dredged up with bucket scoops.
—
Leslie Shapiro, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich has floated the idea of deploying the army to fight spiraling drug violence, a previously taboo topic that dredges up painful memories.
—Isabel Debre, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Mar. 2024
The workers slept right here, among piles of excrement dredged up from the darkness.
—Carina Del Valle Schorske, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024
Over a couple of weeks, Evangeline, Liz and Pete have to sacrifice the joy of the holiday season to dredge up painful traces of the past, going deeper and deeper into the darkness, the inhospitable landscape and … get ready to point at your screen … the night country.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Jan. 2024
But, shortly before the election, a new video of Osama bin Laden was released that dredged up memories of 9/11.
—Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
Generations of family history are typically dredged up through Ancestry.com.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024
But what should have been a joyous (and likely remunerative) affair for its two cofounders, Alexis Ohanian and current CEO Steve Huffman, has instead dredged up much of the disappointing fallout that led to the end of their relationship.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 23 Feb. 2024
Leslie Shapiro, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich has floated the idea of deploying the army to fight spiraling drug violence, a previously taboo topic that dredges up painful memories.
—Isabel Debre, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Mar. 2024
The workers slept right here, among piles of excrement dredged up from the darkness.
—Carina Del Valle Schorske, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024
Over a couple of weeks, Evangeline, Liz and Pete have to sacrifice the joy of the holiday season to dredge up painful traces of the past, going deeper and deeper into the darkness, the inhospitable landscape and … get ready to point at your screen … the night country.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Jan. 2024
But, shortly before the election, a new video of Osama bin Laden was released that dredged up memories of 9/11.
—Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
Generations of family history are typically dredged up through Ancestry.com.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024
But what should have been a joyous (and likely remunerative) affair for its two cofounders, Alexis Ohanian and current CEO Steve Huffman, has instead dredged up much of the disappointing fallout that led to the end of their relationship.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 23 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dredge up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dredge up
Cite this Entry
“Dredge up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dredge%20up. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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