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
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
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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Authorities are still searching for those responsible.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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Who isn't searching for Japan travel?—
Monica Pitrelli,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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An AppSec assessment can helps uncover these risks by evaluating the effectiveness of existing controls, scanning practices and visibility across the application landscape.—
Rajat Sharma,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Sony and onsemi still dominate SPAD chip technology, while silicon OPA scanning precision, a key process, needs to be improved.—
Ni Tao,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The easy 1-mile route takes hikers under the bridge—past the spot where George Washington allegedly carved his initials into the rock when surveying the land—and then out to Lace Falls, a 50-foot cascade.—
Lydia Mansel,
Southern Living,
8 Sep. 2025
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Damage assessment teams are still surveying the burn area, Cal Fire said, but fire officials said early estimates of crop damage from the blaze were expected to be at least $65 million.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Authorities are combing through video from the scene, including this video which appears to show a person on the roof immediately following the shooting, according to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
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Without federal and local standards on how to deal with contaminants like arsenic and the carcinogen benzene, dozens of researchers and private specialists are combing through yards and homes, work that goes beyond authorities’ post-fire testing.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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His eyes darted around, finding nowhere to rest.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
13 Sep. 2025
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Facing one of these situations late in the quarter, Hartman bought time scrambling to his right before finding Brown behind the defense on the sideline for a 38-yard pass to the 9-yard line.—
Jordan Neal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Using ironing cloths and a few leaves leftover from raking your yard, iron the leaves onto 8-by-8-inch squares of wax paper.—
Claire Hoppe Norgaard,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Sep. 2025
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Removing Existing Moss Since moss has no true root system, small areas of growth are easy to remove by simply raking or pulling up the moss.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dredging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dredging. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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