WordGarden.iodrudge
C2Pronunciation
UK
- /drˈʌdʒ/
US
- /ˈdrədʒ/
Meanings
Noun
a derogatory term for a person who does dull, hard, menial work
Verb
to work hard at dull or menial tasks
Beyond the definition
Imagine a servant spending the whole day on the same tiring chores over and over again. That is the feeling behind "drudge." To drudge means to do dull, tiring, unpleasant work, usually because you have to, not because you want to. You might drudge through paperwork at a boring job, or a student might drudge through one more round of essay revisions. It is more than simply working hard; it suggests work that feels repetitive and joyless.
The word brings up a sense of weariness and quiet acceptance. It is often used for work that feels small, endless, and thankless. "She felt she was reduced to drudgery, simply filing papers all day."
To drudge means to do hard, boring, repetitive work that wears a person down. The idea is not just effort, but effort without much pleasure, interest, or praise. Many kinds of work are difficult, but when someone drudges, the work feels endless, dull, and heavy.
The word is often used when someone feels stuck doing tasks that must be done but give little back. You do not simply work; you drudge when the task feels like a burden and there is no real spark in it. It can suggest low-level chores, physical labor, or office tasks that have become painfully routine.
It can be used as a verb: "He drudged through the long winter, repairing fences on the farm." It can also be used as a noun for a person who does this kind of low, tiring work: "He was treated like a drudge in his own house." The related noun drudgery names the work itself: "The drudgery of washing dishes after every meal was starting to wear her down."
Historically, it often described the lives of servants or laborers doing low-status tasks. Today, it can still apply to many kinds of exhausting and unfulfilling work, from endless data entry to repetitive factory jobs to daily housework that never seems finished. It is a word for labor that feels thankless and mechanical. Think of someone bent over the same desk or the same sink day after day, quietly carrying on because the work simply has to be done.
Examples
- 1
Office work
For years, he worked as a drudge in a law office, typing letters and filing papers.
- 2
Household work
She was tired of being treated like a household drudge while everyone else relaxed.
- 3
Literary character
In the novel, the young clerk dreams of escaping his life as a drudge.
- 4
Paperwork
We spent the whole afternoon drudging through stacks of paperwork.
- Patterndrudge through + task
do boring, tiring work slowly
See also
Forms and spellings
4 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- drudgenounverb
Forms
- drudging-ing formverbnoun
- drudgespluralnounverb
- drudgedpast tenseverbnoun