Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Sponger |
SpongerNoun1. A workman employed to collect sponges. 2. A follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "sponger" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1855. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Occupations | Tends machine that shrinks woven or knitted cloth to predetermined size: Mounts roll of cloth on machine, using chain hoist. Threads end of cloth through tension bars, guide and feed rollers, and through shrinking elements. Observes flow of cloth through machine onto $T3takeup roll,$T1 or guides cloth onto shrinking elements to prevent wrinkles and uneven winding, or sets speed of elements according to shrinkage-control guide for various cloth styles. Turns valves or moves switch control to regulate flow of water or steam. May measure cloth width, using yardstick. May tend equipment that preshrinks woolen suiting fabric and be designated Soaker (textile). May sew, using portable sewing machine, or pin cut of cloth to cloth in machine. May doff rolls of shrunken cloth. May tend machine not equipped with water vat and be designated Steam-Pan Sponger (textile). Important variables may be indicated by processes or trade names of machines used. (references) |
| Trims and smooths edges and surfaces of greenware preparatory to bisque firing: Trims excess clay from ware. Positions circular pieces, such as plates and cups, in center of whirler. Starts whirler revolving and moves various-shaped knives over ware surface, following contours of piece, to remove rough spots and mold marks. Smooths ware surfaces, using abrasive cloth, felt, and moist sponge. May be designated according to type of ware finished as Flatwork Finisher (pottery & porc.). May finish handles preparatory to joining them to such ware as cups and be designated Handle Finisher (pottery & porc.). (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: SpongerSynonyms: leech (n), parasite (n), sponge (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Petitioner | Beggar, mendicant, moocher, panhandler, freeloader, sponger, mumper, sturdy beggar, cadger; hotel runner, runner, steerer, tout, touter. |
Servility | Sycophant, parasite; toad, toady, toad-eater; tufthunter; snob, flunky, flunkey, yes-man, lapdog, spaniel, lickspittle, smell-feast, Graeculus esuriens, hanger on, cavaliere servente, led captain, carpet knight; timeserver, fortune hunter, Vicar of Bray, Sir-Pertinax, Max Sycophant, pickthank; flatterer; doer of dirty work; ame damnee, tool; reptile; slave; (servant); courtier; beat, dead beat, doughface , heeler, homme de cour, sponger, sucker, tagtail, truckler. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Sponger |
| English words defined with "sponger": Bummer ♦ Smell-feast ♦ Trencher friend. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "sponger": cloth shrinker, cloth sponger, CLOTH-SHRINKING-MACHINE OPERATOR, cold-water machine operator ♦ padding-machine operator, presetter operator ♦ water sponger, woolen-suiting shrinker. (references) |
| "Sponger" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Sponger" is used about 7 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 7 | 133,076 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
sponger | 10 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "sponger"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Afrikaans | tafelskuimer (cadger, parasite), rugryer (cadger, parasite), klaploper (cadger, parasite). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | qylaxhi (Cadger), parazit (Cadger, freeloader, hanger-on, parasite, parasitic, parasitical). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | متسول (beggar, mendicant, panhandler, ragamuffin), متطفل (meddlesome, obtrusive, parasite, snoop), الطفيلي (cadger, deadhead, gatecrasher, parasite). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | събирач на сюнгери, готован (sponge). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | vyžírka (scrounger), příživník (appendage, parasite), parazit (drone, hanger-on, parasite). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | parasiet (cadger, parasite), klaploper (cadger, parasite). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | طفیلی (Kite, Parasite, Sponge, Tagalong), درکش (Absorbent). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | parasite. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frisian | parasyt (cadger, parasite). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Schmarotzer (cadger, freeloader, freeloaders, hanger-on, parasite, parasitical worm, scrounger). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | σπογγίζων, παράσιτοσ (parasite, parasitic, sponge, toady, trencherman), τρακαδόροσ (scrounger). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | עלוק" (horseleech, leech, vampire), טפיל (drone, leech, parasite, sponge), צלן (exploiter, sponge, user). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | potyázó (freeloader, heel, scrounge, scrounger, sponge), élősdi (infestant, parasite, sucker, wog). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | benalu (parasite, tuft-hunter). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | scroccone (cadger, deadbeat, freeloader, freeloaders, scrounger, swindler). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 居候 (freeloader, lodger who pays nothing for room and board). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | いそうろう (freeloader, free-loader, house guest, lodger who pays nothing for room and board). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | jioleyder (mop, sucker, swab), co-plas. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Papiamen | parasit (cadger, parasite). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | ongerspay parasita (bleeder, cadger, commensal, dead-beat, guest, hanger-on, leech, lickspittle, parasite, sponge). (various references) pescuitor de bureţi, parazit (dead beat, guest, hanger-on, leech, locust, parasite, parasitic, parasitical, pest, sponge, sycophant, toady). (various references) ловец губок (diver), паразит (blood-sucker, parasite, pest, sponge, spongers, sucker). (various references) ulizica (bootlicker, groveller, lickspittle, sycophant, toad-eater, toady, truckler, yes man, yesman). (various references) sablista (borrower, bummer, cadger, scrounger), gorrón (bummer, cadger, journal, mumper, pebble, pivot, scrounger). (various references) snyltväxt (cadger, parasite), snyltgäst (cadger, parasite), snyltdjur (cadger, parasite), snyltare (freeloader, hanger-on, scrounger, sponge), tallricksslickare (cadger, parasite), parasit (cadger, parasite, sucker). (various references) asalak (bloodsucker, cadger, endoparasite, free rider, freeloader, hanger-on, parasital, parasite, parasitic, parasitical, sponge, sucker, tufthunter). (various references) той, що витира" губкою, нахлібник (dependant, freeloader, tame cat, toady), збирач губок. (various references) người vớt bọt biển, chậu vớt bọt biển người lau chùi bằng bọt biển người ăn bám. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "sponger": spongers. (additional references) | |
| |
"Sponger" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Eponge, esponge, ponger, slonger, spanger, sponcer, spongey, spongi, sponser, sponte, spooger, spouge, spounge, Spungen. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| Words rhyming with "sponger" (pronounced 'Spon"ger'): Agger, Arranger, Assuager, Astringer, Auger, Avenger, Barger, Besieger, Blancmanger, Blunger, Boroughmonger, Bragger, Bugger, Bulger, Changer, Charger, Cogger, Conger, Cringer, flogger, forger, Gager, Gagger, Gauger, gouger, Granger, Infringer, jogger, lager, lagger, logger, lounger, maiger, malinger, manger, merger, nigger, obliger, Overeager, Overlinger, Pegger, Phalanger, Plugger, Plunger, Presager, Promulger, Pugger, Purger, Reforger, Revenger. (additional references) |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: presong. | |
| Words within the letters "e-g-n-o-p-r-s" | |
-1 letter: genros, goners, gropes, pengos, person, prongs, sponge. | |
-2 letters: genro, goers, goner, gores, gorps, gorse, grope, ogres, opens, pengo, peons, pones, pongs, pores, porns, poser, progs, prone, prong, prose, repos, ropes, segno, senor, snore, spore. | |
-3 letters: egos, engs, eons, epos, ergo, ergs, erns, eros, gens, goer, goes, gone, gore, gorp, noes, nogs, nope, nose. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-g-n-o-p-r-s" | |
+1 letter: perigons, prognose, pyrogens, reposing, spongers, spongier. | |
+2 letters: dognapers, gonopores, newsgroup, oppugners, parsonage, peignoirs, personage, progenies, progestin, prognosed, prognoses, prolonges. | |
+3 letters: angiosperm, dognappers, fingerpost, godparents, gonophores, gunpowders, gymnosperm, gynophores, gyroplanes, morphogens, newsgroups, oppressing, orphanages, parsonages, patronages, perigynous, personages, porringers, prescoring, preshowing, presoaking, presorting, processing, professing, progestins, prolongers, prosecting, prospering, protesting, reexposing, reimposing, reopenings, reopposing, repositing, responding, respotting, saprogenic, spongeware, sporogenic, stoppering. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage Frequency | 5. Expressions: Internet 6. Translations: Modern 7. Derivations 8. Rhymes | 9. Anagrams 10. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
