sponge on

1. Also, sponge off. Impose on another's hospitality or generosity, as in He's been sponging on relatives for the past year. This expression uses sponge in the sense of “to soak up something.” [Late 1600s]

Example Sentences

Divers harvesting sponges on the ocean floor using only a hollow reed to breathe through remained a prime industry on the Greek islands.

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This ideology depends on the notion that immigrants are raiding the public purse by sponging on public services.

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"We'd be given smelling salts, sponge on the neck, back out and play," he said.

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Their mouths are “almost like if you had a pool noodle with a sponge on the end,” Andy Gloss, an evolutionary biologist at New York University, said.

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For homeowners trying to treat pet accidents on their own, the best way is to sponge on clean water, then blot it out by spreading a clean, dry towel over the area and pressing down.

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Related Words

• bite 
• call on 
• hustle 
• scrounge