sponge
A soft thing that holds water and is used to wash dishes, your body, or other things.
A soft, usually rectangular, porous pad made of natural or synthetic material, used for washing or cleaning by holding water and soap.
To clean something with a sponge and water.
To wash or wipe something by using a sponge, usually with water and soap.
To often take money, food, or help from another person and not pay them back.
To habitually get money, food, or other basic things from someone else without paying or giving anything in return.
A person who often takes money, food, or help from others and does not give anything back.
A person who habitually lives at other people's expense by getting money, food, or help without giving anything back.
A simple sea animal with many small holes in its body that lives on rocks and filters water for food.
A simple multicellular aquatic animal with a porous body that lives fixed to a surface and filters water to obtain food, belonging to the phylum Porifera.
A light, soft cake, usually made with eggs, sugar, and flour; often called sponge cake.
A light, airy cake made mainly from eggs, sugar, and flour, with a soft, spongy texture; especially in British English, often short for 'sponge cake'.
A soft thing a woman puts in her vagina before sex to help stop pregnancy. It blocks sperm and often has a chemical that kills sperm.
A soft, disposable contraceptive device inserted into the vagina before sex that blocks sperm from entering the uterus and often contains spermicide.
To take in liquid, like a sponge takes in water.
To absorb or soak up liquid from a surface, in a way similar to how a sponge absorbs water.
- Base: sponge
- Plural: sponge, sponges
- Base: sponge
- 3rd Person Singular: sponges
- Present Participle: sponging
- Past: sponged
a mind like a sponge
1mind that learns quickly
To have a mind that can take in and remember information very easily, like a sponge takes in water.
- Children at that age have a mind like a sponge.
- She has a mind like a sponge and remembers every detail.
- Give him books; his mind is like a sponge right now.
act like a sponge
1take in a lot quickly
To take in a lot of liquid, information, or experience very fast and completely, like a sponge takes in water.
- Her brain acts like a sponge when it comes to languages.
- The dry soil acted like a sponge after the first rain.
- Teenagers can act like a sponge for new ideas.
soak something up like a sponge
1absorb information or experiences fully
To learn or enjoy something very strongly and quickly, like a sponge takes in water.
- The students soaked up information like a sponge during the workshop.
- On her trip she soaked up the culture like a sponge.
- Kids soak up new languages like a sponge.
sponge bath
1wash body without full bath
When you clean the body, or part of it, using a wet sponge or cloth, not by sitting in a bath or standing in a shower.
- The nurse gave the patient a sponge bath.
- When the water was cut off, we had to take sponge baths.
- She prefers a quick sponge bath in the morning.
sponge cake
1light airy cake
A light and soft cake made with eggs, sugar, and flour that feels like a sponge when you touch it.
- She baked a sponge cake for his birthday.
- We had strawberries and cream on top of a sponge cake.
- The recipe tells you how to make a simple sponge cake.
sponge down
1wipe clean with wet sponge
To clean something, especially quickly, by wiping it with a wet sponge or cloth.
- The nurse sponged him down to bring down his fever.
- We sponged down the car after the long trip.
- She sponged the kitchen floor down before guests arrived.
sponge off
1live off someone without paying
To often take money, food, or other help from someone and not give anything back.
- He has been sponging off his parents for years.
- I am not going to let you sponge off me anymore.
- She hates feeling like she is sponging off her friends.
sponge on
1depend on others for support
To live using another person’s or group’s money and help and not give anything back.
- He has been sponging on his relatives since he lost his job.
- They accused him of sponging on the welfare system.
- She refused to sponge on her friends and got a part-time job.
sponge up
1soak up spilled liquid
To take in or soak up liquid from a surface using a sponge, cloth, or similar thing.
- Use this towel to sponge up the water on the floor.
- The paper towels quickly sponged up the spilled milk.
- She sponged up the juice before it reached the carpet.