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.
We had been wintering in the Yellow Sea, and at the time I speak of were on a foraging expedition round the Liau-tung peninsula.
From Tracks of a Rolling Stone by Henry J. (Henry John) Coke
She had been wintering there, and had been packed and ready for the return to Paris, when an obstinate chill had upset all plans.
From Seen and Unseen by E. Katharine Bates
And he was a Partridge, who after the manner of his kind had been wintering under a snow-drift, and now came forth to greet the pleasant spring.
From Algonquin Legends of New England by Charles Godfrey Leland
In the first place, the Roman army, which had been wintering in Capua, rose in open mutiny; and the poorer Plebeians in the city, who were oppressed by debt, left Rome and joined the mutineers.
From A Smaller History of Rome by Sir William Smith
Here, too, came her father, from Nice, where he had been wintering, having devoted his days to the pleasing duty of taking care of himself.
From The Lovels of Arden by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon
