sharpen
verb (used with or without object)
were sharpening
-
past progressiveof sharpen.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.
It is 11 months since knives were sharpening after four sessions of last winter's Ashes series.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
Even in the pandemic’s infancy, people were sharpening pitchforks, infuriated by the many tweets and ’grams from celebrities locked down in fancy houses, their perfect faces telling us, “We’re all in this together.”
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2021
Friends were sharpening their skills and politics: Macklemore opening for Blue Scholars, housemate Toby Crittenden working with youth-politics nonprofit The Washington Bus.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 2017
But his most recent had come at St Andrews in 1990 and the press were sharpening their knives.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2013
She went first to the barn, where the men were sharpening hoes and sickles in preparation for the summer hay cutting.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
