sponge

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
sponge/spʌnʤ/

▶noun

• 1 a sedentary aquatic invertebrate with a soft porous body supported by a framework of fibres or spicules. [Phylum Porifera.]

• 2 a piece of a soft, light, porous absorbent substance originally consisting of the fibrous skeleton of a sponge but now usually made of synthetic material, used for washing, as padding, etc.

  ■ a piece of sponge impregnated with spermicide and inserted into a woman's vagina as a form of barrier contraceptive.

• 3 Brit. a very light cake made with eggs, sugar, and flour but little or no fat.

• 4 informal a person who lives at someone else's expense.

• 5 informal a heavy drinker.

• 6 metal in a porous form.

▶verb (sponges, sponging or spongeing, sponged)

• 1 wipe or clean with a wet sponge or cloth.

• 2 (often sponge off) informal obtain money or food from others without giving anything in return.

• 3 give a decorative effect to (a wall or surface) by applying paint with a sponge.

  ■ decorate (pottery) using a sponge.

– derivatives
spongeable adjective,
sponge-like adjective.

– origin OE, via L. from Gk spongia, later form of spongos, reinforced in ME by OFr. esponge.