muckrake

[ muhk-reyk ]
/ ˈmʌkˌreɪk /

verb (used without object), muck·raked, muck·rak·ing.

to search for and expose real or alleged corruption, scandal, or the like, especially in politics.

Origin of muckrake

1675–85; obsolete muck rake a rake for use on muck or dung. See muck, rake1

OTHER WORDS FROM muckrake

muck·rak·er, noun

Words nearby muckrake

mucker, mucking, muckland, muckle, muckluck, muckrake, muckrakers, mucksweat, muckworm, mucky, muckymuck

Words related to muckrakers

wench, fury, siren, hussy, bitch, hellion, carper, detractor, vixen, virago, nag, scold, battle-ax, biddy, harridan, harpy, madcap, termagant, backbiter, porcupine

Example sentences from the Web for muckrakers

British Dictionary definitions for muckrakers

muckrake
/ (ˈmʌkˌreɪk) /

noun

an agricultural rake for spreading manure

verb

(intr) to seek out and expose scandal, esp concerning public figures

Derived forms of muckrake

muckraker, noun muckraking, noun

Cultural definitions for muckrakers

muckrakers
[ (muk-ray-kuhrz) ]

Authors who specialize in exposing corruption in business, government, and elsewhere, especially those who were active at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. Some famous muckrakers were Ida M. Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, and Upton Sinclair. President Theodore Roosevelt is credited with giving them their name.