dregs

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English

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Etymology

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See dreg.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /dɹɛɡz/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛɡz

Noun

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dregs pl (plural only)

  1. (collectively) The sediment settled at the bottom of a liquid; the lees in a container of unfiltered wine.
  2. (figuratively, the dregs) The worst and lowest part of something.
    the dregs of society
    I sat through the dregs of a long hectic evening.
    • 1826, [Mary Shelley], chapter IX, in The Last Man. [], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, [], →OCLC:
      Yet even now I had not drunk the bitter potion to the dregs; I was not yet persuaded of my loss; I did not yet feel in every pulsation, in every nerve, in every thought, that I remained alone of my race - that I was The Last Man.

Usage notes

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  • The singular form dreg is far less common, but the phrase to the last dreg still has currency.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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