sponge

Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica.

Noun

  1. Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica.

    Synonyms: sea sponge bath sponge poriferan porifer

  2. A piece of porous material used for washing (originally made from the invertebrates, now often made of plastic).
    • She removed Stranleigh’s coat with a dexterity that aroused his imagination. The elder woman returned with dressings and a sponge, which she placed on a chair. - 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:

    Synonyms: bath sponge

  3. The porous material that synthetic washing sponges are made of.
  4. A heavy drinker.

    Synonyms: souse swill-pot alco alcoholic alkie bacchanal bacchant barfly bibber booze artist boozehound boozer borachio bouser carouser cupster dipso dipsomaniac drinker drunk drunkard fuddlecap fuddler grog artist

  5. A type of light cake.

    Synonyms: sponge cake

  6. A type of steamed pudding.

    Synonyms: sponge pudding

  7. A person who takes advantage of the generosity of others (abstractly imagined to absorb or soak up the money or efforts of others like a sponge).

    Synonyms: freeloader sponger bloodsucker bludger bummer free rider gadfly leech mooch moocher parasite scrounge scrounger scunge smell-feast sponge sucker trencher mate

  8. A person who readily absorbs ideas.
    • For this reason, we need to think of our children as sponges of information and watch their sources carefully. We also need to always model appropriate behaviour, as we are a constant source of new information. - 2014,...
  9. A form of contraception that is inserted vaginally; a contraceptive sponge.
  10. Any sponge-like substance.

    1. (baking) Dough before it is kneaded and formed into loaves, and after it is converted into a light, spongy mass by the agency of the yeast or leaven.

    2. Iron from the puddling furnace, in a pasty condition.

    3. Iron ore, in masses, reduced but not melted or worked.

  11. A mop for cleaning the bore of a cannon after a discharge. It consists of a cylinder of wood, covered with sheepskin with the wool on, or cloth with a heavy looped nap, and having a handle, or staff.
    • The great guns ranged along the deck — each bound fast by its new breechings — with their linstocks and sponges and ladles and rammers, made no idle show of warlike strength. - 1923, Charles Boardman Hawes, The Dark...
  12. The extremity, or point, of a horseshoe, corresponding to the heel.

Origin

From Middle English sponge, from Old English spunge, taken from Latin spongia, from Ancient Greek σπογγιά (spongiá), from σπόγγος (spóngos).

Forms

sponges

Related

foam

Derived

African net sponge bacteriosponge barrel sponge breadcrumb sponge bullet sponge calcareous sponge calcisponge chewing sponge chuck up the sponge contraceptive sponge coralline sponge cyanosponge cytosponge demosponge disponge draw a sponge over the slate fun sponge glass sponge globe sponge glove sponge honeycomb sponge lyre sponge Menger sponge menstrual sponge

Verb

  1. To take advantage of the kindness of others.
    • The fly is an intruder, and a common smell-feast, that spunges upon other Peoples Trenchers. - 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop...
    • You can’t go on spunging upon the women. - 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 32, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans,...
    • He has been sponging off his friends for a month now.
  2. To get by imposition; to scrounge.
    • “[…] They talk of you as if you were Croesus—and I expect the beggars sponge on you unconscionably.” And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt...
    • July 17 1735, Jonathan Swift, letter to Lord Ornery I am an utter stranger to the persons and places, except when half a score come to sponge on me every Sunday evening
    • to sponge a breakfast

    Synonyms: blag

  3. To deprive (somebody) of something by imposition.
    • How came such multitudes of our nation […] to be sponged of their plate and their money? - 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
  4. To clean, soak up, or dab with a sponge.
    • Before stepping into the bath the head should be wet with cold water, and in the bath the pit of the stomach should first be sponged. - 1876, Eliza Bisbee Duffey, Our Behaviour: A Manual of Etiquette and Dress of the...
  5. To suck in, or imbibe, like a sponge.
  6. To wipe out with a sponge, as letters or writing; to efface; to destroy all trace of.
    • Lett the eyes which have looked on Idols, sponge out their unlawfull acts - [1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please...
  7. To be converted, as dough, into a light, spongy mass by the agency of yeast or leaven.
  8. To use a piece of wild sponge as a tool when foraging for food.
    • Why do dolphins sponge instead of foraging in a more "normal" way? - 2013, Pamela S. Turner, The Dolphins of Shark Bay, page 22:
    • Sponging is worth thinking about in some detail because it illustrates many of the challenges and sources of controversy in studying social learning and culture in wild cetaceans. - 2015, Hal Whitehead, Luke Rendell,...
    • Moreover, the females that do it seem to "sponge" relentlessly throughout the day, hunting more than other females and more than male spongers too. - 2017, Janet Mann, Deep Thinkers: Inside the Minds of Whales,...

Forms

sponges sponging sponged

Derived

responge spongeable sponge up unsponged