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

Also, waiting for available dredgers to pull sand from ocean sources could delay placement for years. —Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 5 Sep. 2025

Those claims extend to the Spratly Islands, where Chinese dredgers have created more than 3,000 acres of new land across seven reefs. —Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025

Red’s father jumped into the East River, and when his body was found, his head had been severed by the dredger that was looking for him. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 18 July 2025

In addition to the severing of Matsu’s internet cable, Chinese sand dredgers surrounded the islands in 2021, forcing the Taiwanese Coast Guard to run round-the-clock patrols. —Joshua Keating, Vox, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1600, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1666, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dredger

• edger
• hedger
• ledger