DRUDGERY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does drudgery mean? 

• DRUDGERY (noun)
  The noun DRUDGERY has 1 sense:

1. hard monotonous routine work

  Familiarity information: DRUDGERY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DRUDGERY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hard monotonous routine work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

donkeywork; drudgery; grind; plodding

Hypernyms ("drudgery" is a kind of...):

labor; labour; toil (productive work (especially physical work done for wages))

Derivation:

drudge (work hard)

 Context examples 

The seven thousand is yours if you'll guarantee that Gertrude does no more drudgery.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

He did the cooking for the other men in the fort, the dish-washing and the drudgery.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

But these solemn lessons which succeeded those, I remember as the death-blow of my peace, and a grievous daily drudgery and misery.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I owned that the Houyhnhnms among us, whom we called horses, were the most generous and comely animals we had; that they excelled in strength and swiftness; and when they belonged to persons of quality, were employed in travelling, racing, or drawing chariots; they were treated with much kindness and care, till they fell into diseases, or became foundered in the feet; but then they were sold, and used to all kind of drudgery till they died; after which their skins were stripped, and sold for what they were worth, and their bodies left to be devoured by dogs and birds of prey.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Don't think they prefer the drudgery of the desk and the slavery to their circulation and to the business manager to the joy of writing.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It was the day of the week on which Mr. Sharp went out to get his wig curled; so Mr. Mell, who always did the drudgery, whatever it was, kept school by himself.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

That my health was much impaired, by the continual drudgery of entertaining the rabble every hour of the day; and that, if my master had not thought my life in danger, her majesty would not have got so cheap a bargain.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)