thresh
verb (used with object)
to separate the grain or seeds from (a cereal plant or the like) by some mechanical means, as by beating with a flail or by the action of a threshing machine.
had been threshing
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past perfect progressiveof thresh.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.
The wind that had been threshing the tree tops blew with increasing fury.
From The Innocent Adventuress by Mary Hastings Bradley
Nature, the enemy he had been threshing into submission all his life, was not going to block the beautiful grade he had built.
From The Return of Blue Pete by Luke Allan
One evening, toward the close of autumn, Jan was on his way home from Falla, where he had been threshing all day.
From The Emperor of Portugalia by Velma Swanston Howard
And then he said good evening and ran off to the place where Farmer Green had been threshing oats, feeling very well pleased with himself.
From The Tale of Chirpy Cricket by Arthur Scott Bailey
When Uli told the master how much grain he had obtained, the latter said that they had never done so much this year and yet today they had been threshing the fallen grain.
