sponge

Rangers and volunteers at Attingham Park, in Atcham, have been building dams, restoring ponds and planting trees, in a bid to use their land as a sponge for the River Severn and River Tern.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Francesca says she eats bread with Nutella for breakfast, a chocolate-filled sponge cake as a snack, pasta with lentils for lunch and usually chicken for dinner.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

The enriched flour, high-fructose corn syrup, and tallow that help make up the American classic give each small sponge cake about 65 days to be consumed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Depending on the sponge type, annual emissions ranged from about 0.68 grams to 4.21 grams of microplastics per person.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026

But there’s a sponge for soaping, a washcloth for rinsing, and a towel for drying.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Environmentalists also say river bank fortifications destroy shallow-water zones where aquatic life and insects breed -- and the adjoining natural floodplains that act like sponges at times of excess water.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Tommy, who used acrylic paint and a mixture of brushes and sponges to achieve different textures, said: 'I just wanted to make something colourful, plus feet are easier to draw than faces!

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

They also conducted controlled laboratory experiments using an automated testing system known as "SpongeBot," which reproduces the mechanical stress that sponges experience during dishwashing.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026

The “underwater city” of a barrier reef bustles with activity, with vibrantly patterned fish darting busily between corals and sea sponges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

I haven’t stumbled into a classroom; it is an old janitor’s closet that smells like sour sponges.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

The magnesium had an unexpected beneficial effect: It "sponged out" inadvertent impurities in the tantalum and, as a result, raised the temperature at which it operates as a superconductor.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 5, 2024

Pastor Pam and Jen lowered me gently to the ground, a kneeling, knowledgeable Officer K sponged me to consciousness and remained with me until the Fire Department arrived.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 8, 2022

She sponged the mattresses with disinfectant and, eventually, took in a stray cat to fight the rodents.

From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2022

In 1842, the astronomer Chuang calls "the rock star scientist of his generation" introduced the cyanotype process, in which an iron salt solution is sponged or brushed onto paper to sensitize it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2018

Mrs. Perelli and Mrs. Grasso sponged Papa’s face and arms to cool him.

From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis

Alice spends her days cleaning Lady Jemima’s stinky shoes, sponging her underwear and greasing her long blonde hair.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

He hung around the Cincinnati station at all hours, sponging up shot composition and camera angles.

From New York Times ● May 18, 2022

I’ve got her stool and her bucket and her towel, and I’m sponging her off on a nightly basis, sending her back into the fray.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2022

Wetlands also act as our planet's kidneys, sponging up excess rainwater to prevent flooding, and filtering out some sediment and contaminants before they can reach springs, creeks, groundwater, ocean.

From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2021

There was plenty of work to do, and he could pretend to concentrate hard on peeling the rotten leaves off the cabbages or sponging the spilt milk from the refrigerator floor.

From "The Contender" by Robert Lipsyte