spongy
Americanadjective
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spongier,
comparative
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spongiest
superlative
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of the nature of or resembling a sponge; light, porous, and elastic or readily compressible, as pith or bread.
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having the absorbent characteristics of a sponge; absorbing or holding liquid or yielding liquid when pressed.
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of or relating to a sponge.
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lacking in firmness or solidity.
spongy wood; a spongy feeling from the car brakes.
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moist and soft; soggy.
spongy ground.
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porous but hard, as bone.
adjective
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of or resembling a sponge, esp in texture, porosity, elasticity, or compressibility
spongy bread
spongy bone
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of or like a sponge in respect of its capacity to absorb fluid and yield it when compressed
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of spongy
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.
See Examples For:
In forests, peat is an accumulation of spongy, highly flammable, carbon-rich material formed over time through the decomposition of plant matter.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Due to the water’s high mineral content, the fall’s boulders have developed a spongy texture that allows you to climb barefoot while water gushes over your feet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
“If a city can’t handle a flood, that means it’s not spongy enough,” Yu said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025
Otherwise, the food product can end up greasy, spongy or just plain disgusting.
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2024
The leaves turn from rose-tinged to candy-apple red to a dull brown, and I walk to the outhouse on a spongy, sweet-smelling carpet.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Among the efforts to make the city spongier — and therefore less dependent on imported water — is the Safe Clean Water Program, which L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025
Defrosted, it expels most of its water, allowing it to soak up sauce and take on a spongier, meatier texture that's sandwich-worthy.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2023
Farther down, ferns grew spongier leaves that were damp to the touch.
From New York Times ● Jul. 2, 2021
My insides felt like the roof of my mouth, but warmer and spongier.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 7, 2019
Hip-hop has never seen a spongier musician than Drake, just one of the reasons that he’s among music’s most divisive stars.
From Slate ● Mar. 22, 2017
When a church supper was toward, she was always called upon for her wonderful mayonnaise dressing, or her angel-food cake,—sure to be the lightest and spongiest in any assemblage of cakes.
From One of Ours by Willa Sibert Cather
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
