Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The two had been sniping at each other all game, with Doncic at one point taunting Schroder for not signing an $84-million contract with the Lakers in 2021.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2026
Even more intolerable declared the Japanese, was their discovery that Chinese soldiers on shooting ranges had been sniping at Japanese flags, at dummies dressed as Japanese soldiers.
From Time Magazine Archive
Suddenly six Japanese soldiers dashed from a cave, from which they had been sniping at marines.
From Time Magazine Archive
Since then, with Hearst's Herald & Examiner shouting daily encouragement, a Save-Our-Schools Committee had been sniping at the Board on all sides.
From Time Magazine Archive
However, the guides prevailed, and I was deputed for the job, when the "boys" came running in breathless and told us pantingly that Boers had been sniping them.
From A Yeoman's Letters Third Edition by P. T. Ross
