Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A person who does tedious, menial, or unpleasant work.
  • intransitive verb To do tedious, unpleasant, or menial work.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who toils, especially at servile or mechanical labor; one who labors hard in servile or uninteresting employments; a spiritless toiler.
  • noun A large rake.
  • noun A dredge.
  • To work hard, especially at servile, mechanical, or uninteresting work; labor in tedious, dragging tasks; labor with toil and fatigue, and without interest.
  • To harrow.
  • noun Whisky in the raw state, as used in the manufacture of alcohol.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To consume laboriously; -- with away.
  • intransitive verb To perform menial work; to labor in mean or unpleasant offices with toil and fatigue.
  • noun One who drudges; one who works hard in servile employment; a mental servant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A person who works in a low servile job.
  • noun pejorative Someone who works for (and may be taken advantage of by) someone else.
  • verb to labour in (or as in) a low servile job

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun one who works hard at boring tasks
  • verb work hard
  • noun a laborer who is obliged to do menial work

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Middle English druggen, to labor; akin to Old English drēogan, to work, suffer.]

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Examples

Comments

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  • The Drudge expends her life in mopping

    In emptying and filling pails

    She will do so, never stopping,

    Until her strength entirely fails

    -Edward Gorey

    April 15, 2009

  • Yet if some antiquated lady say,

    The last age is not copied in his play;

    Heaven help the man who for that face must drudge,

    Which only has the wrinkles of a judge.

    - John Dryden, 'All for Love'.

    September 20, 2009