had been casting
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past perfect progressiveof cast.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.
Karon Hylton had been casting about for a direction in life, but that suddenly changed in July with the birth of his daughter, his father said.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 30, 2020
By the summer, with a full return to combat looking remote, Ms. Duckworth had been casting about for her next “mission,” she said.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2020
Its writer, Justin Parkinson, had been casting around for “news features and zeitgeisty articles” from the open-plan expanses of New Broadcasting House, London, four glassy floors above its newsroom.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 22, 2016
If I had been casting it, that's the direction I would have urged them to go in.
From Reuters ● Aug. 17, 2010
But she smiled to herself as she thought that while she had been casting about for some way to help Kathleen, Elfreda had found it.
From Grace Harlowe's Fourth Year at Overton College by Jessie Graham [pseud.] Flower