drudge

1 of 2

verb

drudged; drudging

intransitive verb

: to do hard, menial, or monotonous work

transitive verb

: to force to do hard, menial, or monotonous work
drudger noun

drudge

2 of 2

noun

1
: one who is obliged to do menial work
2
: one whose work is routine and boring
3
: menial or tedious labor

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
Verb
After months of drudging through renovations, the Tiki Taco team will soon enjoy the (jack)fruits of its labor. Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 5 Feb. 2024 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
Their companies do everything from taking some of the drudge work out of accounting to helping Americans maximize their credit card rewards. Rina Torchinsky, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 Another recent survey, by the BCG Henderson Institute, showed that office workers spend an average of 25% of their time on administrative drudge work. Deborah Lovich, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023 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

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

Dictionary Entries Near drudge

Cite this Entry

“Drudge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drudge. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

drudge

1 of 2 verb
drudged; drudging
: to do hard or dull work
drudger noun

drudge

2 of 2 noun
: a person who drudges

More from Merriam-Webster on drudge

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!