descend
verb (used without object)
to go or pass from a higher to a lower place; move or come down.
had been descending
-
past perfect progressiveof descend.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.
Maurice Wrightson, 63, from Ashington, Northumberland, had been descending the precarious D211 road from French ski resort Alpe d’Huez with a coach full of British resort staff on 16 April 2013.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 22, 2017
A recent analysis by Australian defense scientists of burst frequency signals from Flight 370 to satellites indicated the aircraft had been descending fast, likely in an automated series of swooping dives called fugoids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2016
"Yes, my buggy's ready—" Uncle Billy stopped at the foot of the stair they had been descending, and squinted suspiciously up at John, one step above him.
From The Man from Jericho by Edwin Carlile Litsey
For three intolerable weeks, this heaviness had been descending upon her as by a whimsy of its own.
From The Readjustment by Will Irwin
How long he had been descending he could not tell, when he found the cage come to a stand-still, and that he was down beneath the surface of the earth, a thousand feet or more.
From The Mines and its Wonders by William Henry Giles Kingston
