import
verb (used with object)
to bring in (merchandise, commodities, workers, etc.) from a foreign country for use, sale, processing, reexport, or services.
had been importing
-
past perfect progressiveof import.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.
Petersen said Flexport discovered that one of its new customers had been importing T-shirts with pictures of horses on them under the customs code for live horses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2025
In recent years, Pakistan had been importing wheat from Ukraine to meet the needs of the province, home to 18 percent of the country’s population.
From New York Times ● Apr. 17, 2023
China, which had been importing much of the world’s plastic waste for reprocessing, ended the practice in 2018, in part because of environmental concerns.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 8, 2022
The link can carry up to 2GW of power, and had been importing electricity from France in recent days, after UK prices hit a record high of £540 per MWh on the wholesale energy market.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2021
During eleven months the Ulster Volunteers had been drilling, had been importing arms, and no step was taken to interfere.
From John Redmond's Last Years by Stephen Lucius Gwynn
