sponge

English

Sponge on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology

Old English spunge, from Latin spongia, from Ancient Greek σπογγιά (spongia), related to σπόγγος (spongos).

Pronunciation

• enPR: spŭnj, IPA: /spʌndʒ/, X-SAMPA: /spVndZ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌndʒ

Noun

sponge (countable and uncountable; plural sponges)

A marine sponge can be used as a washing sponge

1. (countable) Any of various marine invertebrates, mostly of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica.
2. (countable) A piece of porous material used for washing (originally made from the invertebrates, now often made of plastic).
   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, Lord Stranleigh Abroad^[1]:

     She removed Stranleigh’s coat with a dexterity that aroused his imagination. The elder woman returned with dressings and a sponge, which she placed on a chair.

3. (uncountable) A porous material such as sponges consist of.
4. (informal) A heavy drinker.
5. (countable, uncountable) A type of light cake; sponge cake.
6. (countable, uncountable, UK) A type of steamed pudding.
7. (slang) A person who takes advantage of the generosity of others (abstractly imagined to absorb or soak up the money or efforts of others like a sponge).
8. (countable) A form of contraception that is inserted vaginally; a contraceptive sponge.

Synonyms

• (marine invertebrate): sea sponge, bath sponge, poriferan
• (piece of porous material used for washing): bath sponge
• (light cake): sponge cake
• (type of steamed pudding): sponge pudding
• (person): freeloader, sponger

Derived terms

• breadcrumb sponge
• demosponge
• sea sponge
• spongey
• sponge bath
• sponge cake

See also

• foam

Translations

marine invertebrate with a porous skeleton

• Arabic: اسفنج ('isfanj)
• Asturian: esponxa (ast) f
• Catalan: esponja (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 海綿 (cmn), 海绵 (cmn) (hǎimián)

• Czech: houba (cs) f, mořská houba (cs) f
• Dutch: spons (nl) f
• Esperanto: spongo (eo)
• Finnish: pesusieni (fi)
• French: éponge (fr) f
• Galician: esponxa (gl) f
• German: Schwamm (de) m
• Greek: σφουγγάρι (el) (sfoungári) n 

  Ancient: σπόγγος (spóngos) m

• Hawaiian: huʻakai
• Hebrew: ספוג (he) (sfog) m
• Hungarian: szivacs (hu)
• Icelandic: svampur (is) m
• Italian: spugna (it) f
• Japanese: 海綿 (ja) (かいめん, kaimen)

• Jèrriais: êponge f
• Korean: 갯솜, 스펀지 (ko), 해면 (ko), 해면 (ko)
• Latin: spongia (la) f
• Macedonian: сунѓер (mk) (súnǵer) m
• Maori: kōpūpūtai (mi), pūngorungoru (mi)
• Navajo: táłtłʼááh yilcháazhii
• Norwegian: svamp (no) m
• Pashto: سپنج (ps) (spanj) m
• Persian: اسفنج (esfanj)
• Polish: gąbka (pl) f
• Portuguese: esponja (pt) f
• Romanian: burete (ro) m, spongie (ro) f
• Russian: губка (ru) (gúbka) f 
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: спужва (sh) f, сунђер (sh)

  Roman: spužva (sh) f, sunđer (sh)

• Spanish: esponja (es) f
• Telugu: స్పాంజి (spaaMji)
• Turkish: sünger (tr)
• Urdu: اسفنج (isfanj)

piece of porous material used for washing

• Arabic: سفنج (ar) (safing) m
• Armenian: սպունգ (hy) (spung) 
• Asturian: esponxa (ast) f
• Catalan: esponja (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 海綿 (cmn), 海绵 (cmn) (hǎimián)

• Czech: houba (cs) f
• Danish: svamp (da) c
• Finnish: pesusieni (fi)
• French: éponge (fr) f
• Galician: esponxa (gl) f
• Georgian: საწური (ka) (satsuri) 
• German: Schwamm (de) m
• Greek: σφουγγάρι (el) (sfoungári) n 
• Hebrew: ספוג (he) (sfog) m
• Hungarian: szivacs (hu)
• Icelandic: svampur (is) m

• Indonesian: spons (id)
• Italian: spugna (it) f
• Japanese: スポンジ (ja) (suponji)
• Jèrriais: êponge f
• Macedonian: сунѓер (mk) (súnǵer) m
• Navajo: tó yitsʼǫǫsí
• Norwegian: svamp (no) m
• Pashto: سپنج (ps) (spanj) m
• Portuguese: esponja (pt) f
• Romanian: burete (ro) m
• Russian: губка (ru) (gúbka) f , мочалка (ru) (močálka) f 
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: спужва (sh) f, сунђер (sh)

  Roman: spužva (sh) f, sunđer (sh)

• Spanish: esponja (es) f
• Turkish: sünger (tr)

porous material

• Asturian: esponxa (ast) f
• Catalan: esponja (ca) f
• Finnish: sieni (fi)
• Galician: esponxa (gl) f
• Greek: σφουγγάρι (el) (sfoungári) n 

• Hungarian: szivacsanyag (hu)
• Macedonian: сунѓер (mk) (súnǵer) m
• Pashto: سپنج (ps) (spanj) m
• Russian: губка (ru) (gúbka) f 
• Turkish: sünger (tr)

informal: heavy drinker

• Finnish: sieni (fi)
• French: ivrogne (fr) m and f, soulard (fr) m

• Macedonian: сунѓер (mk) (súnǵer) m

sponge cake — see sponge cake

sponge pudding — see sponge pudding

slang: person who takes advantage of the generosity of others

• Finnish: siipeilijä (fi)
• German: Schnorrer (de) m

• Maori: muremure (mi)
• Spanish: cafiche (es) m, gorrón (es) m

Verb

sponge (third-person singular simple present sponges, present participle sponging, simple past and past participle sponged)

1. (slang) To take advantage of the kindness of others.

   He has been sponging off his friends for a month now.

   • L'Estrange

     The fly is an intruder, and a common smell-feast, that sponges upon other people's trenchers.

2. To clean, soak up, or dab with a sponge.
3. To suck in, or imbibe, like a sponge.
4. (intransitive) To be converted, as dough, into a light, spongy mass by the agency of yeast or leaven.

Synonyms

• blag

Translations

to take advantage of others

• Finnish: siipeillä (fi)
• German: schnorren (de)

• Maori: kaimātai (mi), kaimātai (mi)
• Russian: пользоваться
• Spanish: cafichear (es), gorronear (es)

to clean with a sponge

• Catalan: esponjar (ca)
• Finnish: puhdistaa (fi) sienellä (fi)
• French: éponger (fr)

• Greek: σφογγίζω (el) (sfongízo) 
• Hebrew: ספג (he) (safág)