dredge

dredge up

1. Literally, to take out material in order to increase the depth of a body of water. A noun or pronoun can be used between "dredge" and "up." I think we can deepen the pond by dredging up some more sand.

2. To pull something from the depths of a body of water. A noun or pronoun can be used between "dredge" and "up." Hopefully, the divers will be able to dredge up more pieces of the plane today, and we can start analyzing them.

3. By extension, to resume the discussion of something (usually something unpleasant or troublesome). A noun or pronoun can be used between "dredge" and "up." Can we all please try not to dredge up old hurts at this year's Thanksgiving dinner?

4. To find or obtain something after much searching. A noun or pronoun can be used between "dredge" and "up." What else can we do to dredge up support for this petition? I was able to dredge up some of the suspect's financial records.

See also: dredge, up

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

dredge someone or something

 up

1. . Lit. to scoop something up from underwater. The workers dredged the lifeless body up from the cold black water. They dredged up the mud from the riverbed.

2. Fig. to use some effort to seek and find someone or something. I will see if I can dredge a date up for Friday. Can you dredge up a date for me? I don't have a wrench here, but I'll see if I can dredge one up from the basement.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

dredge up

v.

1. To deepen some body of water by digging and removing material from its bottom: They'll have to dredge up the river, or else the larger ships won't be able to pass through. Because the stream was hard to navigate, the farmer paid someone to dredge it up.

2. To raise something from the bottom of a body of water: The workers dredged up a car from the bottom of the lake. They dredged a lot of garbage up from the bottom of the canal.

3. To bring something back into discussion or importance, especially something unpleasant: I wish you hadn't dredged up that issue with our boss. I had been content to forget about the accident until my neighbor dredged it up by asking me questions about it.

See also: dredge, up

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.