sponged

Definition of spongednext
past tense of sponge
1
as in drank
to take in (something liquid) through small openings the ground quickly sponged up the much-needed rain

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in begged
to live by relying on someone else's generosity or hospitality without sharing in the cost or responsibility she's been sponging off of her friends while she tries to land an entry-level job on Wall Street

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sponged
Verb
  • People who drank a lot of alcohol in single sittings had more evidence of liver scarring than people who drank the same amount weekly but in smaller amounts spread out over more occasions.
    Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Briany drank 5 ounces at each feeding.
    Jeff Ernsthausen, ProPublica, 23 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Curry’s passenger begged officers to help Curry but Billups-Taylor blithely dismissed this concern, stating that Curry was acting, court documents state.
    Deborah Laverty, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
  • In an embarrassingly amateurish political stunt, Bianco blew the president a kiss and all but begged for an endorsement by seizing 650,000 ballots from last November’s election to determine whether they were fraudulently counted.
    Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Maintenance crews carve up the streets while pedestrians squeeze by, each person absorbed in their own agendas.
    Françoise Mouly, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Add American cheese, remaining 1 cup cheddar, and reserved soaking water; stir vigorously until most of the cheese is melted (some small lumps of cheese will remain and that is OK) and water is absorbed.
    Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 30 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sponged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sponged. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on sponged

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster