accept
verb (used with object)
to take or receive (something offered); receive with approval or favor.
had been accepting
-
past perfect progressiveof accept.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The U.S. also recently sanctioned a Chinese oil terminal in Shandong province that had been accepting shipments of Iranian crude.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
The landfill had been accepting significantly less waste recently.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2024
One of the few instances of a federal investigation into a sitting Supreme Court justice occurred in 1969, when Justice Department officials signaled an inquiry into outside payments that Justice Abe Fortas had been accepting.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2023
Prior to this, he had been accepting the diagnosis reasonably well, although did not tend to talk about it much unless we brought it up.
From Slate ● Apr. 7, 2021
He said it as if he had been accepting an invitation to dinner.
From A Charming Fellow, Volume II (of 3) by Frances Eleanor Trollope
