distill
verb (used with object)
to subject to a process of vaporization and subsequent condensation, as for purification or concentration.
had been distilling
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past perfect progressiveof distill.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.
While he had few San Diego peers in spirits then, liquor was already flowing from out-of-town breweries — San Francisco's Anchor, for instance, had been distilling since the 1990s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2018
“And if here ain’t Mr Gurdon himself!” exclaimed Chunt, one evening, when he had been distilling information to a select knot of customers.
From The Sapphire Cross by George Manville Fenn
"Who is Maitre Pierre?" said the host, dropping the words as slowly from his mouth as if he had been distilling them.
From Quentin Durward by Sir Walter Scott
