Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One that gathers sponges.
- n. Informal A person who sponges on others; a parasite.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One who uses a sponge.
- n. A person or vessel engaged in fishing for sponges.
- n. In cloth-manuf., a machine in which cloth is dampened previous to ironing. It has a perforated adjustable cylinder, which is filled with steam, and about which the cloth is rolled.
- n. A parasitical dependent; a hanger-on for maintenance; a sponge.
Wiktionary
- n. One who uses a sponge.
- n. A parasitic hanger-on.
- n. One employed in gathering sponges from the sea.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. One who sponges, or uses a sponge.
- n. One employed in gathering sponges.
- n. Fig.: A parasitical dependent; a hanger-on.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a workman employed to collect sponges
- n. a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage
Etymologies
- to sponge + -er (Wiktionary)
Examples
“There is a nasty sound about the word sponger, don't you think?”
“Cowell then explained the meaning of the word sponger for American audiences as 'that means somebody who makes their money from sponging off other people.”
“He explained the meaning of the word sponger for the American audience: "That means somebody who makes their money by sponging off other people," he said.”
“A soldier without his arms, a dress without its purple, a horse without its trappings, are poor things; and a rich man without his sponger is a mean, cheap spectacle.”
“Cold hungry philosophers you may see any day, but never a cold hungry sponger; the man would not be a sponger, that is all, but a wretched pauper, no better than a philosopher.”
“But of course, if never to be hungry, thirsty, or cold, is to be happy, the sponger is the man who is in that position.”
“If the courageous is so in virtue of his courage, the sensible sensible in virtue of his sense, then the sponger is a sponger in virtue of sponging.”
“That word "sponger" as it came to Dan caused him to straighten himself up and step forward more quickly.”
“Mr Griffin said Miss Hanson, who once claimed Australia was being "swamped by Asians", would not be a "sponger".”
Telegraph.co.uk: news, business, sport, the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Sunday Telegraph
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘sponger’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
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Unsavory characters
absconder, aretaloger, arriviste, avaunter, bamboozler, bandit, banger, barbarian, barmecide, barrator, beldam, blatherskite and 190 more...
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List Rated 4
incarnate, tapering, archery, ponceau, crappie, vandalism, conger, acrid, exhort, gleed, sponger, torsion and 1 more...
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Flattery Will Get You Everywhere
sycophant, yes man, brown noser, adulator, courtier, flatterer, toady, flunky, parasite, fawner, lickspittle, heeler and 49 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for sponger.
dailyword This word was also used in the movie version of "Master And Commander" when they were singing at dinner. Jun 28, 2012