I. sponge 1 /spʌndʒ/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1000-1100 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: spongia , from Greek ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] a piece of a soft natural or artificial substance full of small holes, which can suck up liquid and is used for washing
2 . [countable] a simple sea creature from which natural sponge is produced
3 . [singular] British English an act of washing something with a sponge
4 . [uncountable and countable] British English a light cake made from flour, sugar, butter, and eggs:
a Victoria sponge
5 . [countable] a ↑ sponger
II. sponge 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . ( also sponge down ) [transitive] to wash something with a wet cloth or sponge:
Clean the rug by sponging it gently.
She stood on the bath mat and sponged herself down.
2 . [intransitive] informal to get money, free meals etc from other people, without doing anything for them – used to show disapproval
sponge off/on
These people are just sponging off the taxpayers.
3 . [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to remove liquid or a mark with a wet cloth or sponge
sponge something off (something)
I’ll go and sponge this juice off my dress.
4 . [transitive] to put paint on a surface using a sponge
sponge something on (something)
Just sponge the paint on, like this.