as in parasite
a person who is supported by or seeks support from another without making an adequate return
whenever the gang went out for pizza, the leech in the group always had an excuse for not paying his fair share
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of leech
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 1 Feb. 2025
People are going to bail on the subscription model like a dog shaking off leeches.
—Ron Hart, SPIN, 10 Jan. 2025
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024
Certainly there is beauty and awe to fill anyone’s soul, but does a chill draft blow through there as well, leeching ice into the spirit and sending a frisson of tingles down one’s spine?
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 25 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for leech
Noun
Russell adeptly balances tones as the movie careens from L.A. celebrity portrait to an eerie character study of a desperate parasocial leech who still deserves our compassion anyway.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 1 Feb. 2025
People are going to bail on the subscription model like a dog shaking off leeches.
—Ron Hart, SPIN, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
Disposability is how Amazon maintains draconian control over its workers’ fragile sense of job security, leeching their desire to push back by unionizing.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024
Certainly there is beauty and awe to fill anyone’s soul, but does a chill draft blow through there as well, leeching ice into the spirit and sending a frisson of tingles down one’s spine?
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 25 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for leech
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leech
Noun
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Thanks to modern medicine, people in the United States rarely deal with parasites.—
Breanne Hayes Haney,
The Conversation,
14 Apr. 2025
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This LifeStraw, 20 percent off for a pack of two, is proven to filter out 99.9 percent of waterborne bacteria and parasites.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Cotton sponges up water and refuses to let go, turning a light rain shower into a grueling, soggy, all-day affair.—
Alice Bennett,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Apr. 2025
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Apply with fingertips, a brush, or sponge onto cheeks and lips.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
1 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Dreux has entrusted Alyssa with delivering Uche’s money before the first of the month—but instead, Alyssa has asked her layabout, freeloading boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua David Neal) to put the money in Uche’s hands.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Apr. 2025
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If only Alyssa hadn’t entrusted the money to her freeloading boyfriend, Keshawn (Joshua David Neal).—
Natalia Winkelman,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Suleman also opened up about her financial insecurity in the early 2010s and how the media painted her to be mooching off the government.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
8 Mar. 2025
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Anyway, my friend and I were able to mooch a ride from him to that wonderful institution known as LAX, land of inconvenience, confusion, disdain and dirty bathrooms.—
Marla Jo Fisher,
Orange County Register,
26 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Leech.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leech. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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