mooch
Americanverb (used with object)
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to borrow (a small item or amount) without intending to return or repay it.
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to get or take without paying or at another's expense; sponge.
He always mooches cigarettes.
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to beg.
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to steal.
verb (used without object)
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to skulk or sneak.
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to loiter or wander about.
noun
verb
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to loiter or walk aimlessly
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(intr) to behave in an apathetic way
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(intr) to sneak or lurk; skulk
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(tr) to cadge
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(tr) to steal
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has moochedperfect 3rd person singular
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have moochedperfect
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are moochingprogressive
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am moochingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been moochingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is moochingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been moochingperfect progressive
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moochingparticiple
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moochessingular 3rd person
Past
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had moochedperfect
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was moochingprogressive singular
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had been moochingperfect progressive
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were moochingprogressive plural
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moochedsimple
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moochedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of mooch
1425–75; late Middle English, apparently variant of Middle English michen < Old French muchier to skulk, hide
Explanation
To mooch is to take advantage of other people's generosity without giving anything in return. If you constantly mooch rides from your friend, she's going to get tired of agreeing to drive you around. When you mooch food from your neighbors — showing up every night at dinnertime, or appearing uninvited at their family barbecues — you help yourself to free meals. A person in the habit of doing this is also called a mooch. The word's original definition, "pretend poverty," might stem from the Middle English word mucchen, "to be stingy," or literally, "to keep coins in one's nightcap."
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.
Winter stood on the deck of his boat, named Mooch Better, where he had laid out tools to replace engine parts.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2024
But it is suitable for someone like the Mooch to find temporary purchase here since this is a test of resilience.
From Salon • Jan. 4, 2023
The Mooch put a fatherly hand on Mr. Bankman-Fried’s shoulder.
From New York Times • May 14, 2022
Stephen Calk was convicted in a Manhattan court room, in a case in which The Mooch testified, of financial institution bribery and conspiracy charges.
From The Guardian • Jul. 13, 2021
Beneath the Mooch of their acquaintance there was another different Mooch, who was in many ways exactly the opposite.
From Jean Christophe: in Paris The Market-Place, Antoinette, the House by Cannan, Gilbert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
