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

The case has dredged up memories from one the darkest chapters in LAPD history, while also sparking a debate within the department about about when officers should be disciplined for sharing or displaying images of divisive figures. —Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026

Unmoored from tradition and offering only vague, impressionistic lyrics, Granli’s quavering performances on Rosacea become Rorschach tests, ripe for free association with whatever images your psyche can dredge up. —H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026

The storyline has been that Apple can’t shoot straight; the antipathy of the Apple-using/hating commentators runs so deep that the critics dredged up the canard that Apple’s done nothing since former CEO Steve Jobs died. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 Jan. 2026

Those suits not only dredged up dark secrets dating back years but also laid the foundation for their federal criminal case. —Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 16 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for dredge up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup