tan
verb (used with object)
to convert (a hide) into leather, especially by soaking or steeping in a bath prepared from tanbark or synthetically.
was tanning
-
past progressiveof tan.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.
But he was extreme in so many areas, and one of them was tanning.
From Salon β Dec. 19, 2023
Hilly was tanning in the sun, I was fanning in the murky shade.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
She had determined, while she was tanning the deer-skin, how she would embroider them.
From Dahcotah Life and Legends of the Sioux Around Fort Snelling by Mary H. (Mary Henderson) Eastman
It must be blindness, you think; could the sun that was tanning you have gone out instantaneously, leaving you in utter blackness?
From Hall of Mirrors by Vidmer
He had killed several deer and was tanning the hides at the time we arrived.
From Old Rail Fence Corners The A. B. C's. of Minnesota History by Lucy Leavenworth Wilder Morris
