sharpen
verb (used with or without object)
had been sharpening
-
past perfect progressiveof sharpen.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.
Ben Brantley had been sharpening his knives for so long in anticipation of the day he could review our show, our flesh must have felt like a yielding pat of butter.
From Slate ● Nov. 29, 2013
The guard outside, who had been sharpening his pike upon the window-ledge, stopped the shrieking sound.
From Master Skylark by John Bennett
Have at you," he returned laughing, "I knew not I had been sharpening weapons agaynst myself.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol III, No 13, 1851 by Various
He had been sharpening the knife as Jim talked to the workmen outside.
From Poor White by Sherwood Anderson
He bit off the point of a pencil he had been sharpening with laborious care.
From An Alabaster Box by Stockton Mulford
