sponged

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

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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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sponged
Verb
  • On a recent day, a patron drank a Guinness at the bar amid walls are covered in funeral notices from people who had come for a drink after saying that final goodbye.
    Chris Kenning, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Three or four decades ago, the newspaperman was appealingly raffish—at once a bum who drank too much and a knight-errant who charged unafraid at social injustice, succored the weak, and crossed lances with the powerful and arrogant.
    David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • By winter, as conditions worsened, Wasefi’s family and friends begged him to leave.
    Vidushi Mishti Sharma, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Finch begged for Conley to be more aggressive at various points last season, but the point guard never grabbed the reins with aggression.
    Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The medications are known to delay gastric emptying, slowing down how quickly alcohol gets absorbed.
    Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2025
  • In hopes of creating lubrication, water was poured on her, but the walls absorbed the liquid, according to On The Verge.
    Mark Gray, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Sponged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sponged. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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