decay
verb (used without object)
to become decomposed; rot.
was decaying
-
past progressiveof decay.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
The town’s water infrastructure was decaying, but rebuilding it would be expensive and would probably require raising taxes.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 16, 2022
Beneath the surface, the vegetation was decaying — and the process may have been sped up by pallets and cardboard dumped upstream, which provided food for the bacteria, according to the county Public Works Department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2021
The Market was decaying, and desperately needed improvements.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 17, 2021
By the 1990s, the U.S. stock of military family housing – nearly 300,000 homes in all service branches – was decaying and starved of funding.
From Reuters ● Aug. 16, 2018
By calculating backwards from how much radiation a material had now and how swiftly it was decaying, you could work out its age.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
