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.
Meanwhile, protesters were etching the chalk outlines of 12 bodies – representing those killed in a legionnaire’s outbreak in Flint – outside Snyder’s residence in Ann Arbor.
From The Guardian ● May 5, 2016
Despite lingering concerns about the hidden oil from BP's massive spill, sand-sculpting artists were etching masterpieces in a weekend competition designed to boost tourism and erase the images of oil-stained beaches.
From New York Times ● Sep. 27, 2010
For miles around, smaller drops of the three-mile-diameter sun had spattered and were etching deeper holes in the pitted landscape.
From The Sky Is Falling by Lester Del Rey
