as in searching
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
I've been dredging my memory bank, and I simply can't remember her name
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Recent Examples of dredging
In the legend, Yu, a heroic figure, saved Chinese civilization from decades of devastating floods by dredging rivers and waterways.
—
Literary Hub, 15 Dec. 2025
Pickleball courts, golf course to remain open Plans for the project include dredging the lake, repairing the concrete and foundation at the dam, and replacing a culvert near Flatwoods Road Cove with a bridge.
—Jolene Almendarez, Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 Sep. 2025
The project would extend Osceola's slack-water harbor by 3,000 feet by dredging out 620,000 cubic yards of material.
—Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2025
The fact that Ryan Murphy’s American Love Story is shooting in the neighborhood is dredging everything back up again.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
The changes a deepwater port could bring The Army Corps of Engineers this month issued a $400 million contract to begin the first phase of the port project, which will ultimately include dredging sediment from the ocean so bigger ships can dock.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025
Additional land could come from dredging the lake.
—Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2025
Or she’d fry okra after dredging it in fine cornmeal.
—Anne Byrn, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2025
It would be leaked to Seymour Hersh in 1974; by then, the man who had pulled the report together for Schlesinger, William Colby, was DCI, but Schlesinger was blamed for dredging it all up in the first place.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 1 Apr. 2020
Literary Hub, 15 Dec. 2025
Pickleball courts, golf course to remain open Plans for the project include dredging the lake, repairing the concrete and foundation at the dam, and replacing a culvert near Flatwoods Road Cove with a bridge.
—Jolene Almendarez, Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 Sep. 2025
The project would extend Osceola's slack-water harbor by 3,000 feet by dredging out 620,000 cubic yards of material.
—Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2025
The fact that Ryan Murphy’s American Love Story is shooting in the neighborhood is dredging everything back up again.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
The changes a deepwater port could bring The Army Corps of Engineers this month issued a $400 million contract to begin the first phase of the port project, which will ultimately include dredging sediment from the ocean so bigger ships can dock.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025
Additional land could come from dredging the lake.
—Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2025
Or she’d fry okra after dredging it in fine cornmeal.
—Anne Byrn, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2025
It would be leaked to Seymour Hersh in 1974; by then, the man who had pulled the report together for Schlesinger, William Colby, was DCI, but Schlesinger was blamed for dredging it all up in the first place.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 1 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dredging
Verb
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Rescuers retrieved eight people alive and were searching for the missing still trapped after a huge mound of garbage and debris collapsed on them in the village of Binaliw in Cebu city, police said.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
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Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Wednesday that it had been notified that teams had recommenced searching for Ran Gvili.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Wegmans, a popular supermarket chain, is now scanning the faces of customers and storing data so its security system can recognize them.—
Tim McNicholas,
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
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In 2017, the Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine went to a team of English and French researchers who used advanced brain-scanning technology to measure the extent to which some people are disgusted by cheese.—
Scott Lafee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Parrish stood at the wheel, his gimlet eyes surveying the water beneath a threadbare Pink Floyd cap.—
Henry Wismayer,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Jan. 2026
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Video posted on social media showed a resident surveying the damage by kayak.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Catherine Corless, a local historian in Tuam, spent years combing through death certificates and church records from the former home, eventually documenting 796 children who died there.—
Christina Coulter,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
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By Wednesday morning, law enforcement officers and workers in protective clothing were combing the area in search of the missing animals.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Barca are finding life more difficult this term, though.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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With child care now costing costing more than many college degrees and more than rent in some major cities, parents are finding finances stretched.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Burrow, who spoke with media after the Bengals lost 18-20 to the Cleveland Browns, seemed bothered by his 'do from the start, sitting down at the mic and instantly raking his lengthy bangs back with his hands.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
5 Jan. 2026
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Cover the seed with a very thin layer of soil, approximately 1/8 inch thick, by gently raking the area.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
31 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dredging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dredging. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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