sponge.
Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica.
Meaning & usage
Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica.
A piece of porous material used for washing (originally made from the invertebrates, now often made of plastic).
The porous material that synthetic washing sponges are made of.
A heavy drinker.
A type of light cake.
A type of steamed pudding.
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).
A person who readily absorbs ideas.
A form of contraception that is inserted vaginally; a contraceptive sponge.
Any sponge-like substance. 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.
Any sponge-like substance. Iron from the puddling furnace, in a pasty condition.
Any sponge-like substance. Iron ore, in masses, reduced but not melted or worked.
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 extremity, or point, of a horseshoe, corresponding to the heel.
A nuclear power plant worker routinely exposed to radiation.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sponge, from Old English spunge, taken from Latin spongia, from Ancient Greek σπογγιά (spongiá), from σπόγγος (spóngos). Displaced native Old English swamm (“fungus, sponge”).
To take advantage of the kindness of others.
He has been sponging off his friends for a month now.
To get by imposition; to scrounge.
to sponge a breakfast
To deprive (somebody) of something by imposition.
To clean, soak up, or dab with a sponge.
To suck in, or imbibe, like a sponge.
To wipe out with a sponge, as letters or writing; to efface; to destroy all trace of.
To be converted, as dough, into a light, spongy mass by the agency of yeast or leaven.
To use a piece of wild sponge as a tool when foraging for food.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sponge, from Old English spunge, taken from Latin spongia, from Ancient Greek σπογγιά (spongiá), from σπόγγος (spóngos). Displaced native Old English swamm (“fungus, sponge”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.