- (v.i.) To be converted, as dough, into a light, spongy mass by the agency of yeast or leaven.
- (n.) 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.
- (v.t.) Fig.: To get by imposition or mean arts without cost; as, to sponge a breakfast.
- (n.) Iron ore, in masses, reduced but not melted or worked.
- (v.t.) Fig.: To deprive of something by imposition.
- (n.) Any one of numerous species of Spongiae or Porifera. See Illust. and Note under Spongiae.
- (n.) The elastic fibrous skeleton of many species of horny Spongiae (keratosa), used for many purposes, especially the varieties of the genus Spongia. The most valuable sponges are found in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and on the coasts of Florida and the West Indies.
- (n.) 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.
- (v.i.) To suck in or imbile, as a sponge.
- (v.t.) To cleanse or wipe with a sponge; as, to sponge a slate or a cannon; to wet with a sponge; as, to sponge cloth.
- (n.) One who lives upon others; a pertinaceous and indolent dependent; a parasite; a sponger.
- (n.) Iron from the puddling furnace, in a pasty condition.
- (v.t.) To wipe out with a sponge, as letters or writing; to efface; to destroy all trace of.
- (n.) Any spongelike substance.
- (v.i.) Fig.: To gain by mean arts, by intrusion or hanging on; as, an idler sponges on his neighbor.
- (n.) The extremity or point, of a horseshoe, answering to the heel.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). sponge. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/sponge/definitions/2065206 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "sponge" http://smartdefine.org/sponge/definitions/2065206 (accessed September 21, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, sponge, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/sponge/definitions/2065206>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "sponge" 28 May 2011. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/sponge/definitions/2065206> |