leech

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /litʃ/ UK /liːtʃ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a blood-sucking worm; also, a person who exploits others parasitically

He became a leech, living off his friends without contributing.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a blood-sucking worm; also,... parasite bloodsuckerspongerfreeloaderexploiter

Word family

Related forms leechingleechcraft

Etymology

From Old English lǣce ('leech, the worm'), partly conflated with the homonym lǣce ('physician, healer'), since leeches were used in bloodletting; both from Proto-Germanic roots.

lǣce Old English

View etymology graph ->

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# leech

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /litʃ/
**IPA (UK):** /liːtʃ/

## Meanings
1. a blood-sucking worm; also, a person who exploits others parasitically

## Examples
- He became a leech, living off his friends without contributing.

## Synonyms
- parasite
- bloodsucker
- sponger
- freeloader
- exploiter

## Related Forms
- leeching
- leechcraft

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lǣce

## Etymology
From Old English lǣce ('leech, the worm'), partly conflated with the homonym lǣce ('physician, healer'), since leeches were used in bloodletting; both from Proto-Germanic roots.

## AI Etymology
Leech is from Old English lǣce ('leech, the worm'), partly conflated with the homonym lǣce ('physician, healer'), since leeches were used in bloodletting; both from Proto-Germanic roots. Important recorded forms include lǣce (Old English). The current sense covers a blood-sucking worm; also, a person who exploits others parasitically. The wider family includes related words such as leeching and leechcraft.

## Topics
- People & Society

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leech

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