spʌndʒ n. & v. --n. 1
any aquatic animal of
the phylum Porifera,
with pores in
its body wall and a
rigid internal skeleton. 2 a the skeleton of a sponge,
esp. the
soft light elastic absorbent kind used in bathing, cleansing surfaces, etc. b a
piece of
porous rubber or
plastic etc. used similarly. 3 a
thing of spongelike absorbency or
consistency, e.g. a sponge
pudding,
cake, porous
metal, etc. (lemon sponge). 4 =
SPONGER. 5 colloq. a
person who drinks heavily. 6 cleansing with or as with a sponge (had a
quick sponge
this morning). --v. 1 tr.
wipe or
cleanse with a sponge. 2 tr. (also absol.;
often foll. by down, over)
sluice water over (the body, a
car, etc.). 3 tr. (often foll. by
out,
away, etc.) wipe
off or
efface (writing, a
memory, etc.) with or as with a sponge. 4 tr. (often foll. by up)
absorb with or as with a sponge. 5 intr. (often foll. by
on, off) live as a
parasite; be meanly
dependent upon (another person). 6 tr.
obtain (drink etc.) by sponging. 7 intr.
gather sponges. 8 tr.
apply paint with a sponge to (walls,
furniture, etc.). øsponge
bag a
waterproof bag
for toilet articles. sponge cake a
very light cake with a spongelike consistency. sponge
cloth 1 soft, lightly-woven cloth with a slightly wrinkled
surface. 2 a
thin spongy material used for cleaning. sponge pudding
Brit. a steamed or baked pudding of
fat,
flour, and eggs with a usu. specified
flavour. sponge rubber
liquid rubber
latex processed
into a spongelike
substance. sponge
tree a
spiny tropical acacia, Acacia farnesiana, with globose heads of
fragrant yellow flowers
yielding a
perfume:
also called
OPOPANAX. øøspongeable adj. spongelike adj. spongiform adj. (esp. in senses 1, 2). [OE f. L spongia f. Gk spoggia, spoggos]