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.
In 1602, for instance, “Captain” Dorothy Dawson led 37 women in an attack on laborers who were fencing in a village commons in Yorkshire, England.
From Scientific American ● May 31, 2023
Sanitation sweeps made it hard enough, and businesses were fencing off the sidewalks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2019
In Portland the authorities were fencing off parks the protesters had emptied out over the weekend in the face of a city-issued eviction notice.
From Reuters ● Nov. 13, 2011
Sprinkled around the store were fencing masks and taxidermied rodents, relics of someone else’s grandfather’s life.
From New York Times ● Sep. 1, 2010
There were fencing exercises, made slightly more tolerable by the fact that Nick was gone—no one seemed to know where or why.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
