Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Michael Zweiback, an attorney for Altamirano, said his client was defending himself from Mendoza, who he said had been bullying his client for months.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2019
Iago's next move was to induce Othello, who had been bullying Desdemona about the handkerchief, to play the eavesdropper to a conversation between Cassio and himself.
From Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by E. (Edith) Nesbit
He was scored all over by the tusks of some other hippopotamus that had been bullying him.
From The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile by Sir Samuel White Baker
He wanted to know if Topsy had been bullying poor Toodles.
From The Helpmate by May Sinclair
The two deck-hands who had pulled him and Lucetta aboard had disappeared, and the big man who had been bullying Macdougal was at the wheel.
From Stranded in Arcady by Francis Lynde
