Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Twelve-year-old Calyssa was coloring quietly while the eight hustled like “Top Chef” contestants.
From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2018
Watching the #MeToo movement gain traction, as women’s voices were finally heard and powerful men finally, finally experienced consequences, felt like a restoration, as if someone was coloring me in again.
From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2018
“Back when I was coloring films for Ted Turner, people had a right to say it looked bad,” Rutledge said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2016
A woman who was coloring heard my theory and rolled her eyes.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2016
I imagined that I was coloring inside the lines of a coloring book, but the pencil was waxy and smudgy and an eye is nothing like a flat sheet of paper.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
