sponge

“It’s one that can work as a sponge when there is a flood or respond in the right way when there is a drought.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Households in Germany and North America volunteered to use one of three sponge types as part of their regular dishwashing routines while documenting how the sponges were used.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026

Like squeezing a sponge, the descending motion dries the air out and when you add in the fact the air is compressed, this also adds to the air heating up.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

It will occupy an area partly covered in a marshy oasis, or "vega," which acts as a natural sponge.

From Barron's ● May 23, 2026

His red hair sprang up like a sponge on the top of his head and he stared at Jake with gray, flabby eyes.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

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

Kitchen sponges are a staple in most homes, but they may also be an overlooked source of microplastic pollution.

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

In angry weariness he opened the wall cabinet and collected scalpels and clamps, sponges and tubes of sutures, to put in his bag.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

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

He renders the tropical wilderness in thin, brittle linework, while blotty sponged black ink fills out coarse tree bark and the shadows cast by leafy vegetation.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2019

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

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

Wedging himself between Dickie and Marge, he becomes obsessed — an obsession in which the lines between befriending Dickie, sponging off Dickie and becoming Dickie are progressively erased.

From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2024

There’s a lot of scraping and sponging involved.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 19, 2023

And she so appreciated Charles’s letters: “Your minute accounts are such a comfort and I enjoyed sponging our dear one with vinegar as much as you did.”

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman