Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Within seconds, Mrs. Pitts blinked in surprise, her features relaxing, as if the doctor had sponged away her pain lines.
From New York Times ● Jun. 10, 2016
He told, for instance, how he had sponged off his mother while he was trying to learn his trade as a writer.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was as if something had sponged all the boyishness from his face.
From Crooked Trails and Straight by D. C. Hutchison
“Do you know,” he asked Wolfenden, when he had sponged his face, “whom I was following?”
From Mysterious Mr. Sabin by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim
When he had sponged himself with cold water and dressed, putting on a soft negligée shirt with turn-down collar and dark flowing tie, he issued forth clean and fresh.
From The "Genius" by Theodore Dreiser
