drudged; drudging
: to do hard, menial, or monotonous work
: to force to do hard, menial, or monotonous work
drudger
noun
1
: one who is obliged to do menial work
2
: one whose work is routine and boring
3
: menial or tedious labor
Synonyms
Examples of drudge in a Sentence
Verb
factory workers who must drudge all day at repetitive tasks
Noun
She was tired of working as an office drudge.
worked like a drudge at a low-paying job that had few benefits
Recent Examples on the Web
David Harsanyi, National Review, 8 June 2023
However, Todd Field’s first feature film in 16 years drudges up those exact dark secrets of manipulative conductor Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett).
—Keith Nelson, Men's Health, 10 Mar. 2023
Firefighters are responding to homes using snowcats and often drudging in by foot with shovels and hoses and digging hydrants out of the snow to extinguish flames, Munsey said.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 3 Mar. 2023
While the House drudged through a partisan back-and-forth, top Republicans and Democrats in the Senate hatched a deal.
—Andrew Oxford, azcentral, 24 Mar. 2020
As ambitious Jim heads east, Ántonia is a disgraced, unmarried mother drudging on the farm for a churlish brother.
—Robert Garnett, WSJ, 14 Sep. 2018
So spare a thought on Tuesday for the half-million teenagers drudging through derivatives.
—James Markarian, WSJ, 14 May 2018
While drudging through hateful comments can definitely make a negative impact on your mental health, reading kind comments out loud could act as an antidote.
—Brittney McNamara, Teen Vogue, 20 June 2017
Elie Dolgin, IEEE Spectrum, 31 May 2018
Clem’s siblings are hardly thrilled by her return: For nervous academic drudge Carlin (Emily Robinson), big sis’s distracting drama can only lower her SAT scores, while teen jock Neil (Wyatt Oleff) tries to ignore her presence entirely.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 1 Mar. 2023
For years, men have weaponized incompetence to avoid office drudge work, often leaving it to women.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2023
The pandemic forced CEOs—many of whom went into the job as sophic leaders or visionaries—to take on more operational drudge.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2022
This work week has been a drudge, and the first two espresso shots are not keeping pace.
—Bon Appétit Contributor, Bon Appétit, 12 Aug. 2022
The new reality of the past couple years has undoubtedly come with new routines — like instead of that daily drudge through the sticky streets to catch your train, your commute now may consist of moving from your bed to your couch.
—R29 Unbothered, refinery29.com, 11 Aug. 2022
Samuel Johnson used similar language—harmless drudge—to describe the lexicographer who compiles a dictionary.
—Alexandra Horowitz, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2022
As any power-walker, commuter or chore drudge could tell you, the podcast is the multitasker’s best friend.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Nov. 2021
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Verb
Aren’t those who drudge away at them anything but harmless?
—David Harsanyi, National Review, 8 June 2023
However, Todd Field’s first feature film in 16 years drudges up those exact dark secrets of manipulative conductor Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett).
—Keith Nelson, Men's Health, 10 Mar. 2023
Firefighters are responding to homes using snowcats and often drudging in by foot with shovels and hoses and digging hydrants out of the snow to extinguish flames, Munsey said.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 3 Mar. 2023
While the House drudged through a partisan back-and-forth, top Republicans and Democrats in the Senate hatched a deal.
—Andrew Oxford, azcentral, 24 Mar. 2020
As ambitious Jim heads east, Ántonia is a disgraced, unmarried mother drudging on the farm for a churlish brother.
—Robert Garnett, WSJ, 14 Sep. 2018
So spare a thought on Tuesday for the half-million teenagers drudging through derivatives.
—James Markarian, WSJ, 14 May 2018
While drudging through hateful comments can definitely make a negative impact on your mental health, reading kind comments out loud could act as an antidote.
—Brittney McNamara, Teen Vogue, 20 June 2017
Noun
There, software and robotics automate much of the drudge work of organism design.
—Elie Dolgin, IEEE Spectrum, 31 May 2018
Clem’s siblings are hardly thrilled by her return: For nervous academic drudge Carlin (Emily Robinson), big sis’s distracting drama can only lower her SAT scores, while teen jock Neil (Wyatt Oleff) tries to ignore her presence entirely.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 1 Mar. 2023
For years, men have weaponized incompetence to avoid office drudge work, often leaving it to women.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2023
The pandemic forced CEOs—many of whom went into the job as sophic leaders or visionaries—to take on more operational drudge.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2022
This work week has been a drudge, and the first two espresso shots are not keeping pace.
—Bon Appétit Contributor, Bon Appétit, 12 Aug. 2022
The new reality of the past couple years has undoubtedly come with new routines — like instead of that daily drudge through the sticky streets to catch your train, your commute now may consist of moving from your bed to your couch.
—R29 Unbothered, refinery29.com, 11 Aug. 2022
Samuel Johnson used similar language—harmless drudge—to describe the lexicographer who compiles a dictionary.
—Alexandra Horowitz, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2022
As any power-walker, commuter or chore drudge could tell you, the podcast is the multitasker’s best friend.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Nov. 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drudge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English druggen
First Known Use
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of drudge was
in the 14th century
Articles Related to drudge
Dictionary Entries Near drudge
Cite this Entry
“Drudge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drudge. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
drudge
2 of 2 noun
: a person who drudges
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