[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/sponge/)

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# sponge

noun (a sponge, sponges); verb (sponge, sponges, sponged, sponging)

«sponge» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A sponge is a soft thing full of holes that soaks up water, used for washing or cleaning. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#m1)
2. A sponge is a simple sea animal that lives fixed to rocks and has a body full of holes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#m2)
3. A sponge or sponge cake is a light, soft cake. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#m3)
4. To sponge something is to wipe or clean it with a wet sponge. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#m4)
5. To sponge off someone means to keep taking money or food from them without giving back (informal). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#m5)

### In the lessons

In science, a sponge shows absorbency: it soaks up water because of its many holes. In nature lessons, sea sponges are animals, not plants. In everyday life, people wash cars and dishes with a sponge, and eat Victoria sponge cake. Phrases: «soak up like a sponge» (learn quickly), «sponge bath».

### Examples

- Wipe the table with a damp sponge. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#x1)
- The sponge soaked up all the spilled juice. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#x2)
- Sea sponges are animals that live on the ocean floor. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#x3)
- Grandma baked a jam sponge for tea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#x4)
- She sponged the mud off her coat. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#x5)
- Little children soak up new words like a sponge. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#x6)
- We tested which material absorbs most water, and the sponge won. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#x7)
- The angry Merchant immediately turned about and drove the Ass back to the seashore, where he loaded him with two great baskets of sponges. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/#x8)

### Note

Countable noun; regular verb (sponged). Spelled with «o» but said «spunj». A sea sponge is an animal even though it does not move. In experiments, weigh the sponge before and after soaking: the difference is the water it holds.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «sponge» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sponge/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«sponge» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sponge.html) on Mova free.