amass
verb (used with object)
to gather for oneself; collect as one's own.
had been amassing
-
past perfect progressiveof amass.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.
Even before the current outbreak, the United States had been amassing millions of mpox vaccines for years.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2023
Notes from conversations among White House staff members indicate that there are discussions about material that Mr. Trump had been amassing, and how to get it back and make sure the documents are properly handled.
From New York Times ● Aug. 26, 2022
But, when he wore it, the suit was a reminder that since the late nineteen-seventies he had been amassing a work of sober wit and coherence—and also, it seems, deepening ambivalence about life in America.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 23, 2019
Through his investment fund, Strategic Holdings, Bonomi had been amassing shares in the famed all-inclusive resort chain, and the AMF wanted him to declare his intentions.
From BusinessWeek ● Jul. 17, 2014
Then he gave away all the wealth he had been amassing for years, till he had nothing left.
From Mystics and Saints of Islam by Claud Field
