sponge

CEFRB1

/spʌnd͡ʒ/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
noun
A soft material used to absorb liquid or clean things.
02
noun
Extra detail
A piece of porous material used for washing (originally made from the invertebrates, now often made of plastic).

Examples

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Deep Dive

Extra meanings

The porous material that synthetic washing sponges are made of.
Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica.
A type of light cake.

In context

A sponge absorbs water.
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

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

The word in print, with each source given in full.

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
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, Phoeve Hutchison, Are You Listening? Life Is Talking to You!, page 145
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 Best American Society, Philadelphia
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 specify the page)
Why do dolphins sponge instead of foraging in a more "normal" way?
2013, Pamela S. Turner, The Dolphins of Shark Bay, page 22

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