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

But this film also revived a wound that the city of Salem would have preferred to cover over entirely, dredging up everything about the Rideouts all over again. —Sarah Weinman, Rolling Stone, 9 Nov. 2025

Currently, Americans are drinking less alcohol than ever—only 54 percent of people consume booze, a 90-year low—which dredges up quite a few problems for the wine industry at large. —Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 8 Nov. 2025

Three decades on, Martin is invited to Ben’s lavish birthday party at the Fitzmaurice’s country pile, but Martin fears that the publicity of Ben’s bid for Conservative leader will dredge up the secrets of their past with tragic consequences. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025

At one point, Jonah encourages Morgan to hurl eggs at a piece of art that dredges up painful memories. —Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025

Rhymes for dredge up

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