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
It is written in an almost stream-of-consciousness style, rather like someone reluctantly dredging up their memories, with random thoughts interrupting the narrative, long sentences sometimes running to over a page, little punctuation, and peppered with Kobe dialect.
—
Ginny Tapley Takemori
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
The country has already dredged up 70 percent of China's total 2,300 acres and, like China, has begun to add defensive structures, airfields and harbors at several features.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
With net in hand, the future microbial geochemist dredged up seaweed and mud squirming with snails, crab larvae and other small invertebrates.
—Laura Poppick, Quanta Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Having to dredge up memories of some extremely horrific things, starting with child abuse and a violation at the age of 5.
—Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dredge up
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Ginny Tapley Takemori
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
The country has already dredged up 70 percent of China's total 2,300 acres and, like China, has begun to add defensive structures, airfields and harbors at several features.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
With net in hand, the future microbial geochemist dredged up seaweed and mud squirming with snails, crab larvae and other small invertebrates.
—Laura Poppick, Quanta Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Having to dredge up memories of some extremely horrific things, starting with child abuse and a violation at the age of 5.
—Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dredge up
Cite this Entry
“Dredge up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dredge%20up. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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