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.
Wrote Jana: “Many years later, as young adults, we heard Mom say as she was oiling her cherished screen, ‘I wish I had noticed that those dang movers broke my screen.’
From Washington Post ● Aug. 4, 2020
He was oiling the wheels of commerce, efficiently allocating capital where it could best be used, no?
From The Guardian ● Sep. 7, 2018
In the decades that followed, when Mr. Green’s name turned up more often in gossip columns than in scholarly journals, “Sam was oiling his way into every situation,” Mr. Richardson said.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2011
Last week the greatest hunter of them all was oiling his gun.
From Time Magazine Archive
All eyes went to their bodyguard, who had left off tending the roses and was oiling the gate hinges.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
