sponging

English

Verb

sponging

1. present participle and gerund of sponge
   • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

     I'm to be a poor, crawling beggar, sponging for rum, when I might be rolling in a coach!

Noun

sponging (plural spongings)

1. The application of a sponge.
   • 1815, William Shearman, New Medical and Physical Journal:

     I have employed cold air, and very often spongings with cold water, in order to moderate the preternatural heat of the skin, and to check the increased velocity of the circulation.

Related terms

• sponging-house