design
verb (used with object)
to prepare the preliminary sketch or the plans for (a work to be executed), especially to plan the form and structure of.
had been designing
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past perfect progressiveof design.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.
Huntington Ingalls Industries and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, which build the Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and had been designing a new generation of destroyers, are now designing the new Trump-class battleship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
Mr. Bolt had been designing his own sets for a few years, primarily for his followers on Instagram, but this was the first time something he had produced had gained real traction.
From New York Times ● May 4, 2024
We had been designing rings, and Langely had a secret flight planned for mid-March to ask my father’s permission in person.
From New York Times ● May 12, 2020
That’s certainly not enough to afford a Frank Lloyd Wright house — at least the ones he had been designing at the time, which would run about $650,000 in today’s dollars.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 6, 2019
Then she confessed that for a fortnight past she had been designing in water colors a series of menu cards for the wedding feast.
From Fruitfulness by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly
