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sponge

[spuhnj]

Origin

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noun

any aquatic, chiefly marine animal of the phylum Porifera, having a porous structure and usually a horny, siliceous or calcareous internal skeleton or framework, occurring in large, sessile colonies.

the light, yielding, porous, fibrous skeleton or framework of certain animals or colonies of this group, especially of the genera Spongia and Hippospongia, from which the living matter has been removed, characterized by readily absorbing water and becoming soft when wet while retaining toughness: used in bathing, in wiping or cleaning surfaces, etc.

any of various other similar substances, often porous rubber or cellulose, used for washing or cleaning.

sponge bath.

a person or thing that absorbs something freely: His mind is a sponge gathering historical data.

EXPAND

a person who persistently borrows from or lives at the expense of others; sponger; parasite.

Informal. a drunkard.

Metallurgy. a porous mass of metallic particles, as of platinum, obtained by the reduction of an oxide or purified compound at a temperature below the melting point.

Surgery. a sterile surgical dressing of absorbent material, usually cotton gauze, for wiping or absorbing pus, blood, or other fluids during a surgical operation.

10.

Cookery.

dough raised with yeast, especially before kneading, as for bread.

a light, sweet pudding of a porous texture, made with gelatin, eggs, fruit juice or other flavoring material, etc.

11.

a disposable piece of polyurethane foam impregnated with a spermicide for insertion into the vagina as a contraceptive.

COLLAPSE

verb (used with object)

12.

to wipe or rub with or as with a wet sponge, as to moisten or clean.

13.

to remove with or as with a wet sponge (usually followed by off, away, etc.).

14.

to wipe out or efface with or as with a sponge (often followed by out).

15.

to take up or absorb with or as with a sponge (often followed by up): to sponge up water.

16.

to borrow, use, or obtain by imposing on another's good nature, friendship, hospitality, or the like: He sponged 40 bucks from his friend and went to the city.

EXPAND

17.

Ceramics. to decorate (a ceramic object) by dabbing at it with a sponge soaked with color.

COLLAPSE

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Sponge is one of our favorite verbs.

So is peculate. Does it mean:

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

verb (used without object)

18.

to take in or soak up liquid by absorption.

19.

to gather sponges.

20.

to live at the expense of others (often followed by on or off): He came back home and sponged off his family for a while.

Idiom

21.

throw in the sponge, Informal. to concede defeat; yield; give up: The early election returns were heavily against him, but he wasn't ready to throw in the sponge.

Origin:
before 1000; (noun) Middle English, Old English < Latin spongia, spongea < Greek spongiā́; (v.) Middle English spongen to clean with a sponge, derivative of the noun

Related forms

sponge·less, adjective

sponge·like, adjective

spong·ing·ly, adverb

un·sponged, adjective

Synonyms
6. leech. 12. wash.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To sponge

Collins

World English Dictionary

sponge (spʌndʒ)

—n
1.	any multicellular typically marine animal of the phylum Porifera, usually occurring in complex sessile colonies in which the porous body is supported by a fibrous, calcareous, or siliceous skeletal framework
2.	See also spongin a piece of the light porous highly absorbent elastic skeleton of certain sponges, used in bathing, cleaning, etc
3.	any of a number of light porous elastic materials resembling a sponge
4.	another word for sponger
5.	informal a person who indulges in heavy drinking
6.	leavened dough, esp before kneading
7.	See sponge cake
8.	(Brit) Also called: sponge pudding a light steamed or baked pudding, spongy in texture, made with various flavourings or fruit
9.	porous metal produced by electrolysis or by reducing a metal compound without fusion or sintering and capable of absorbing large quantities of gas: platinum sponge
10.	a rub with a sponge
11.	throw in the sponge See throw in

—vb (when tr, often foll by up) (often foll by off)
12.	(tr; often foll by off or down) to clean (something) by wiping or rubbing with a damp or wet sponge
13.	(tr; usually foll by off, away, out, etc) to remove (marks, etc) by rubbing with a damp or wet sponge or cloth
14.	to absorb (liquids, esp when spilt) in the manner of a sponge
15.	to get (something) from (someone) by presuming on his generosity: to sponge a meal off someone
16.	(intr; often foll by off or on) to obtain one's subsistence, welfare, etc, unjustifiably (from): he sponges off his friends
17.	(intr) to go collecting sponges

[Old English, from Latin spongia, from Greek]

'spongelike

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

sponge

O.E. sponge, spunge, from L. spongia "a sponge," also "sea animal from which a sponge comes," from Gk. spongia, related to spongos "sponge," borrowed from an unknown source. The Latin word is the source of O.S. spunsia, M.Du. spongie, O.Fr. esponge, Sp. esponja, It. spugna. To throw in the sponge "quit,

EXPAND

submit" (1860) is from prizefighting, in ref. to the sponges used to cleanse the faces of combatants between rounds (cf. later throw in the towel). Sponge-cake is attested from 1808. Spongy "soft, elastic" is from 1539.

sponge

late 14c., "to soak up with a sponge," from sponge (n.). The slang sense of "to live in a parasitic manner" is attested from 1670s; sponger (n.) in this sense is from 1670s. Originally it was the victim who was known as the sponge (c.1600), since he or she was being "squeezed."

COLLAPSE

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

sponge (spŭnj)
n.

Any of numerous aquatic invertebrate animals of the phylum Porifera.
The light, fibrous, absorbent skeleton of certain of these organisms.
A piece of absorbent porous material, such as cellulose, plastic, or rubber, used especially for washing and cleaning.
A gauze pad used to absorb blood and other fluids, as in surgery or in dressing a wound.
A contraceptive sponge.

v. sponged, spong·ing, spong·es
To wash, moisten, or absorb with a sponge.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

sponge (spŭnj) Pronunciation Key

Any of numerous aquatic, chiefly marine invertebrate animals of the phylum Porifera. Sponges characteristically have a porous skeleton, usually containing an intricate system of canals, that is composed of fibrous material or siliceous or calcareous spicules. Water passing through the pores brings food to the organism. Sponges live in all depths of the sea, are sessile, and often form irregularly shaped colonies attached to an underwater surface. Sponges are considered the most primitive members of the animal kingdom, since they lack a nervous system and differentiated body tissues or organs. Adults do not have moving parts, but the larvae are free-swimming. Sponges have great regenerative capacities, with some species able to regenerate a complete adult organism from fragments as small as a single cell. Sponges first appear during the early Cambrian Period and may have evolved from protozoa. Also called poriferan. See Note at regeneration.
The light, fibrous, flexible, absorbent skeleton of certain of these organisms, used for bathing, cleaning, and other purposes.
A piece of porous plastic, rubber, cellulose, or other material, similar in absorbency to this skeleton and used for the same purposes.

Slang Dictionary

sponge definition

and spunge

in.
to drink heavily. : She was sponging like there was no tomorrow.
n.
a drunkard; a tippler. (See also blotter.) : She was a spunge, and she wasn't going to do anything about it.
n.
a parasitic person. : Here comes that sponge, Willy. Hide your wallet, pencils, glasses, and any clothes in his size.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

sponge definition

A special case of a Unix filter that reads its entire input before writing any output; the canonical example is a sort utility. Unlike most filters, a sponge can conveniently overwrite the input file with the output data stream. If a file system has file versioning (as ITS did and VMS does now) the sponge/filter distinction loses its usefulness, because directing filter output would just write a new version.
See also slurp.
[Jargon File]
(1995-01-18)

Easton

Bible Dictionary

Sponge definition

occurs only in the narrative of the crucifixion (Matt. 27:48; Mark 15:36; John 19:29). It is ranked as a zoophyte. It is found attached to rocks at the bottom of the sea.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

sponge

In addition to the idiom beginning with sponge, also see throw in the sponge.