deplete
verb (used with object)
to decrease seriously or exhaust the abundance or supply of.
were depleting
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past progressiveof deplete.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.
Environmental Protection Agency for use as a pesticide in 1959, sulfuryl fluoride gained popularity after countries around the world agreed to phase out more reactive fumigants that were depleting the ozone layer, the researchers said.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2024
“We are underinvesting as an industry,” Darren Woods, Exxon’s chief executive, told analysts Tuesday, noting that many oil fields were depleting.
From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2023
Eskom said it had been making extensive use of emergency generation reserves, which were depleting faster than could be replenished.
From Reuters ● Jun. 24, 2022
They were widely introduced three decades ago as a substitute for chlorofluorocarbons, a different set of chemicals that were depleting Earth’s ozone layer.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 10, 2020
Something similar can be said for the atmospheric chemists in the 1970s and 1980s who realized that chlorofluorocarbons were depleting the ozone layer.
From Nature ● May 21, 2018
