dredger

1 of 2

noun (1)

dredg·​er ˈdre-jər 

plural dredgers

: something (such as a barge or a machine) that is used for dredging : dredge entry 2

The groups blame the use of the "Newhaven" scallop dredger, common since the 1970s, for deeper and more damaging fishing practices than ever before.

—Tony Diver

Why buy expensive sand, sourced from licensed mines, when you can anchor your dredger in some remote estuary, blast the sand out of the riverbed with a water jet and suck it up?

—Neil Tweedie

dredger

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural dredgers

: a container with a perforated top that is used to coat food (as with flour or sugar) by sprinkling

While still warm, shake over some sugar from a dredger, then cut into squares or fingers.

—Maxine Gordon

Examples of dredger in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The cutter suction dredger Tianjing, Asia’s largest, has pumped sand onto five Spratly reefs in 2014 to create and expand regional islands. —Andrew S. Erickson, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2015

The first phase will finish before Memorial Day, which as long as the dredger returns by fall to finish, has an upside, officials said. —Laylan Connelly, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 May 2024

Since colonial times, however, shovels and sieves have been replaced by heavier equipment, such as the mining barges, expensive and more destructive dredgers, and bulldozers – used to dig riverside slopes. —Andre Cabette Fabio, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Apr. 2024

On Monday, workers in hard hats and vests continued preparing the area ahead of the work that is expected to start mid week, following the dredger completing a sand replenishment project in San Diego. —Laylan Connelly, Orange County Register, 23 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1600, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1666, in the meaning defined above