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

Traore saw himself as a "big ball of clay" that Jones could mould, and the coach says he was "like a sponge" in terms of retaining information.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

As the tectonic plate bends near the subduction zone, fractures develop, allowing the magma to rise through the crust, much like liquid being squeezed from a sponge.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 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

Up the road at the Arables’ house, Fern lugged a pail of hot water to her room and took a sponge bath.

From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White

The geographic features are hot spots of biodiversity, with corals, sponges and even an octopus garden, just like in the Beatles song.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

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

The results show that kitchen sponges do shed measurable amounts of microplastics over time.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026

So successful, in fact, that after six months of grueling and dangerous work, the decks of two vessels were so filled with drying sponges that there was little room left to move about.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

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

Maintenance and repairs sponged up dollars so fast that had lawmakers not acted, no money would have been left for new construction or even to unlock federal matching grants.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 30, 2022

“If you put water on them it takes the heat off. That’s why horses are sponged sometimes before or in the paddock and  certainly after the races.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2016

“Everything will be fine,” I said as I sponged her face clean.

From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

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

Generative AI is developing so quickly that soon the large-language models sponging up information on the internet will run out of content to feed on.

From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2024

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

In the movie, it’s easy to identify Kroc as an amoral exploiter, sponging off the labors of Dick and Mac.

From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2017

The two ships and their crews had left the sponging waters in mid-April and were now sailing in a channel between the Greek islands of Antikythera and Crete.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler