Word
drudge
US/ˈdɹədʒ/
UK/dɹˈʌdʒ/
Countable noun
Definition
n. a person who does long, boring, hard work that nobody else wants to do.
n. a person assigned to tedious, menial labour requiring sustained effort but little skill. Carries a connotation of low status and monotonous toil.
Examples
“She feels like an office drudge.”
“As the junior assistant, he works as a drudge, filing papers and making coffee all day.”
“Behind the grand hotel's polished facade, an army of silent drudges scrubs floors and hauls linen before dawn.”
Examples
simple
“She feels like an office drudge.”
contextual
“As the junior assistant, he works as a drudge, filing papers and making coffee all day.”
complex
“Behind the grand hotel's polished facade, an army of silent drudges scrubs floors and hauls linen before dawn.”
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “drudge” in context.
Verb
01. drudge slaves
“The drudge slaves over spreadsheets that no manager ever bothers to read.”
noun + verb
02. drudge toils
“The drudge toils late into the night while the rest of the office has gone home.”
noun + verb
03. exploit drudge
“Unscrupulous employers exploit drudges with long hours and minimal pay.”
verb + noun
04. reduce to drudge
“Budget cuts reduced the skilled technician to a drudge doing routine paperwork.”
verb + prep + noun
05. treat as drudge
“The firm treats its interns as drudges, giving them only filing and coffee runs.”
verb + prep + noun
Adjective
06. domestic drudge
“She refused to remain a domestic drudge and enrolled in evening classes.”
adj + noun
07. lowly drudge
“After graduation, he felt like a lowly drudge doing photocopying for the department.”
adj + noun
08. overworked drudge
“The overworked drudge finally asked for a pay rise after years of overtime.”
adj + noun
Noun
09. fate of drudge
“Without qualifications, she feared the fate of a drudge in a dead-end job.”
noun + prep + noun
10. life of drudge
“He was tired of the life of a drudge and wanted more creative work.”
noun + prep + noun
11. nothing more than a drudge
“Despite his degree, he felt he was nothing more than a drudge in the company.”
12. reduced to a mere drudge
“Once a respected researcher, he was reduced to a mere drudge filing reports.”
Etymology
From Middle English druggen, perhaps from Old English dryċġan, from Proto-West Germanic druggjan, from Proto-Germanic drugjaną, a denominative built to a lost noun drugjaz (preserved in Old English Dryċġhelm), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ-; compare Old English drēogan (“to do; to suffer”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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