Definition of "sponge" []

• Any of numerous aquatic, chiefly marine invertebrate animals of the phylum Porifera, characteristically having a porous skeleton composed of fibrous material or siliceous or calcareous spicules and often forming irregularly shaped colonies attached to an underwater surface. (noun)
• The light, fibrous, flexible, absorbent skeleton of certain of these organisms, used for bathing, cleaning, and other purposes. (noun)
• Porous plastics, rubber, cellulose, or other material, similar in absorbency to this skeleton and used for the same purposes. (noun)
• Metal in a porous, brittle form, as after the removal of other metals in processing, used as a raw material in manufacturing. (noun)
• A gauze pad used to absorb blood and other fluids, as in surgery or the dressing of a wound. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The sponge is a one-man stimulus package, not just commercially but morally."
• "PALCA: So the sponge is something called Discodermia dissoluta."
• "But the marine sponge is rare and produces only small quantities of poison."