Sponge
noun
A soft material full of small holes that can absorb liquid, often used for cleaning things.
I need a sponge to wash the dishes.
Often appears as...
- kitchen sponge
- scrub with sponge
noun
A type of sea creature from which the above cleaning material is obtained.
We saw colourful sea sponges at the aquarium.
Often appears as...
- sea sponge
- marine sponge
noun
A type of cake that is soft and full of tiny holes.
I baked a chocolate sponge for dessert.
Often appears as...
- sponge cake
- sponge layer
verb
To clean or remove something by rubbing it with a sponge.
She is sponging the dirt off her shoes.
Often appears as...
- sponge off dirt
- sponge down
verb
To get something such as money or food from other people, without doing anything to earn it.
He has been sponging off his friends for months.
Often appears as...
- sponge off friends
- sponge off parents
Usage tips
Informal, Disapproving
Colloquial
noun
A soft material full of small holes that can absorb liquid, often used for cleaning things.
I need a sponge to wash the dishes.
Often appears as...
- kitchen sponge
- scrub with sponge
noun
A type of sea creature from which the above cleaning material is obtained.
We saw colourful sea sponges at the aquarium.
Often appears as...
- sea sponge
- marine sponge
noun
A type of cake that is soft and full of tiny holes.
I baked a chocolate sponge for dessert.
Often appears as...
- sponge cake
- sponge layer
verb
To clean or remove something by rubbing it with a sponge.
She is sponging the dirt off her shoes.
Often appears as...
- sponge off dirt
- sponge down
verb
To get something such as money or food from other people, without doing anything to earn it.
He has been sponging off his friends for months.
Often appears as...
- sponge off friends
- sponge off parents
Usage tips
Informal, Disapproving
Colloquial
Definition 1 of 5
Pro Tip 1/3Absorbency Highlight
Sponge's key feature is its ability to soak up liquids, making it a go-to tool for cleaning.
Use a sponge to mop up the spilled milk.
Pro Tip 2/3Versatile Use
'Sponge' can refer to various shapes and sizes, used for different cleaning tasks.
Grab a toothbrush and a small sponge for those hard-to-reach places.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphoric Use
The term can be used metaphorically to describe people or things that absorb information or resources.
He's a sponge for knowledge.
Pro Tip 1/3Absorbency Highlight
Sponge's key feature is its ability to soak up liquids, making it a go-to tool for cleaning.
Use a sponge to mop up the spilled milk.
Pro Tip 2/3Versatile Use
'Sponge' can refer to various shapes and sizes, used for different cleaning tasks.
Grab a toothbrush and a small sponge for those hard-to-reach places.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphoric Use
The term can be used metaphorically to describe people or things that absorb information or resources.
He's a sponge for knowledge.
Pro Tip 1/3Absorbency Highlight
Sponge's key feature is its ability to soak up liquids, making it a go-to tool for cleaning.
Use a sponge to mop up the spilled milk.
Pro Tip 2/3Versatile Use
'Sponge' can refer to various shapes and sizes, used for different cleaning tasks.
Grab a toothbrush and a small sponge for those hard-to-reach places.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphoric Use
The term can be used metaphorically to describe people or things that absorb information or resources.
He's a sponge for knowledge.
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Video examples
Drew Berry: Animations...
They are actually red; that's what gives blood its color. And hemoglobin acts as a molecular sponge to soak up the oxygen in your lungs and then carry it to other parts of the body. I was very much inspired by this image many years ago, and I wondered whether we could use computer graphics to represent the molecular world. What would it look like? And that's how I really began.
Video examples
What happens if you cut...
We may think of nature as being unconnected to our urban spaces, but trees have always been an essential part of successful cities. Trees act like a natural sponge, absorbing storm water runoff before releasing it back into the atmosphere. The webs of their roots protect against mudslides
Video examples
Could we speak the...
is second only to humans. Cognitively, they can understand artificially-created languages. And they pass self-awareness tests in mirrors. And in some parts of the world, they use tools, like sponges to hunt fish. But there's one big question do they have a language, and if so,
Video examples
Inside a cartoonist's...
These ideas come from a variety of places. Cartoonists might find the idea from observing life, reading a newspaper, trawling online. It can come from a sentence someone said or a single word heard on television. Cartoonists are like sponges;
Video examples
Creating a Bio-Industrial...
in the computer-aided design the digital blueprints we can put complexity inside this is a venus flower basket it's a glass made of silica a glass sponge incredible intricacy but now we can do that kind of intricacy too we can build
Video examples
These animals are also...
Without the aid of these algae, filter-feeding corals, clams, and sponges would not gain enough nutrition in the nutrient-poor tropical ocean, and the dazzling coral reefs they build simply would not exist. Mixotrophy even cuts both
Video examples
How to write descriptivel...
With an exciting plot? Maybe. Fascinating characters? Probably. Beautiful language? Perhaps. "Billie's legs are noodles. The ends of her hair are poison needles. Her tongue is a bristly sponge, and her eyes are bags of bleach."
Video examples
Hidden Alaska PIPE National...
a wildlife I could just sit for hours and watch them I didn't ask her to do this she just picked up this fish and kissed it you can see there's just water everywhere and it's like a sponge this whole area is just like a sponge
Video examples
Explaining the Tree of...
the first multi-celled organisms sponges are their direct descendants as more variations appeared the tree of life grew and became more diverse some organisms became more mobile and developed a mouth that opened into a gut
Video examples
The sharks that hunt in...
fish lay eggs amidst their sprawling, complex root systems. Symbiotic sponges and sea squirts protect their host trees from hungry woodboring crustaceans. Crabs, snails, and shrimp eat algae, mussels, barnacles,
Video examples
Drew Berry: Animations...
They are actually red; that's what gives blood its color. And hemoglobin acts as a molecular sponge to soak up the oxygen in your lungs and then carry it to other parts of the body. I was very much inspired by this image many years ago, and I wondered whether we could use computer graphics to represent the molecular world. What would it look like? And that's how I really began.
Video examples
What happens if you cut...
We may think of nature as being unconnected to our urban spaces, but trees have always been an essential part of successful cities. Trees act like a natural sponge, absorbing storm water runoff before releasing it back into the atmosphere. The webs of their roots protect against mudslides
Video examples
Could we speak the...
is second only to humans. Cognitively, they can understand artificially-created languages. And they pass self-awareness tests in mirrors. And in some parts of the world, they use tools, like sponges to hunt fish. But there's one big question do they have a language, and if so,
Video examples
Inside a cartoonist's...
These ideas come from a variety of places. Cartoonists might find the idea from observing life, reading a newspaper, trawling online. It can come from a sentence someone said or a single word heard on television. Cartoonists are like sponges;
Video examples
Creating a Bio-Industrial...
in the computer-aided design the digital blueprints we can put complexity inside this is a venus flower basket it's a glass made of silica a glass sponge incredible intricacy but now we can do that kind of intricacy too we can build
Video examples
These animals are also...
Without the aid of these algae, filter-feeding corals, clams, and sponges would not gain enough nutrition in the nutrient-poor tropical ocean, and the dazzling coral reefs they build simply would not exist. Mixotrophy even cuts both
Video examples
How to write descriptivel...
With an exciting plot? Maybe. Fascinating characters? Probably. Beautiful language? Perhaps. "Billie's legs are noodles. The ends of her hair are poison needles. Her tongue is a bristly sponge, and her eyes are bags of bleach."
Video examples
Hidden Alaska PIPE National...
a wildlife I could just sit for hours and watch them I didn't ask her to do this she just picked up this fish and kissed it you can see there's just water everywhere and it's like a sponge this whole area is just like a sponge
Video examples
Explaining the Tree of...
the first multi-celled organisms sponges are their direct descendants as more variations appeared the tree of life grew and became more diverse some organisms became more mobile and developed a mouth that opened into a gut
Video examples
The sharks that hunt in...
fish lay eggs amidst their sprawling, complex root systems. Symbiotic sponges and sea squirts protect their host trees from hungry woodboring crustaceans. Crabs, snails, and shrimp eat algae, mussels, barnacles,
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Andrew Wylie
American Businessman
I would say that I have an aspect of my personality which is that I have no personality. That's why I work as an agent. I have the assumed personality of the people I represent. I am like a sponge.
Quote examples
Caroline Ghosn
American Businesswoman
I would encourage everyone in their first job not to ask themselves, 'Where do I want to be?' but 'What do I want to learn from this?' Use that opportunity to be a sponge.
Quote examples
Daniel Jacobs
American Boxer
Andre Ward is a guy I look up to, a guy I have the highest respect for in and out of the ring, so anytime he can give me some kind of advice, I'm like a sponge.
Quote examples
George Hill
American Athlete
I try to instill in the guys to work hard, be humble, be blessed, stay in the gym, be a sponge and soak as much intelligence as a young player and embrace it.
Quote examples
Marcus Mumford
English Musician
A lot of the time writers are just sponges... for what's around them, and so books are helpful for focusing your mind and literally putting it into words.
Quote examples
Eminem
American Rapper
Certainly I'm not going to sit on the Internet all day and read what Sam from Iowa is saying about me. But I'm a sponge. I've always been a sponge.
Quote examples
Stephen Hillenburg
American Actor
I wanted to do a show about a character that was an innocent, and so I focused on a sea sponge because it's a funny animal, a strange one.
Quote examples
Greg Vaughan
Growing up, I was surrounded by many great men in my life. I watched them and learned, taking it in like a sponge.
Quote examples
Steven Wright
American Comedian
Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn't happen.
Quote examples
Jonas Blue
English Musician
To be honest, I'm like a sponge so my inspiration and influences really can come from anywhere.
Quote examples
Andrew Wylie
American Businessman
I would say that I have an aspect of my personality which is that I have no personality. That's why I work as an agent. I have the assumed personality of the people I represent. I am like a sponge.
Quote examples
Caroline Ghosn
American Businesswoman
I would encourage everyone in their first job not to ask themselves, 'Where do I want to be?' but 'What do I want to learn from this?' Use that opportunity to be a sponge.
Quote examples
Daniel Jacobs
American Boxer
Andre Ward is a guy I look up to, a guy I have the highest respect for in and out of the ring, so anytime he can give me some kind of advice, I'm like a sponge.
Quote examples
George Hill
American Athlete
I try to instill in the guys to work hard, be humble, be blessed, stay in the gym, be a sponge and soak as much intelligence as a young player and embrace it.
Quote examples
Marcus Mumford
English Musician
A lot of the time writers are just sponges... for what's around them, and so books are helpful for focusing your mind and literally putting it into words.
Quote examples
Eminem
American Rapper
Certainly I'm not going to sit on the Internet all day and read what Sam from Iowa is saying about me. But I'm a sponge. I've always been a sponge.
Quote examples
Stephen Hillenburg
American Actor
I wanted to do a show about a character that was an innocent, and so I focused on a sea sponge because it's a funny animal, a strange one.
Quote examples
Greg Vaughan
Growing up, I was surrounded by many great men in my life. I watched them and learned, taking it in like a sponge.
Quote examples
Steven Wright
American Comedian
Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn't happen.
Quote examples
Jonas Blue
English Musician
To be honest, I'm like a sponge so my inspiration and influences really can come from anywhere.
Example 1 of 10
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