any bloodsucking or carnivorous aquatic or terrestrial worm of the class Hirudinea, certain freshwater species of which were formerly much used in medicine for bloodletting.
a person who clings to another for personal gain, especially without giving anything in return, and usually with the implication or effect of exhausting the other's resources; parasite.
Archaic. an instrument used for drawing blood.
to apply leeches to, so as to bleed.
to cling to and feed upon or drain, as a leech.
His relatives leeched him until his entire fortune was exhausted.
Archaic. to cure; heal.
either of the lateral edges of a square sail.
the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
any annelid worm of the class Hirudinea, which have a sucker at each end of the body and feed on the blood or tissues of other animals See also horseleech medicinal leech
a person who clings to or preys on another person
an archaic word for physician
( in combination )
leechcraft
to cling or adhere persistently to something
First recorded before 900; Middle English lech(e), Old English lǣce, lȳce; replacing (by association with leech 2 ) Middle English liche, Old English lȳce; cognate with Middle Dutch lake, leke, lieke; akin to Old English lūcan “to pull up, pull out,” Middle High German liechen “to pull”
First recorded before 950; Middle English leche, lech, lecche, Old English lǣce, lēce; cognate with Old Frisian letza, leischa, Old Saxon lāki, Old High German lāhhi, Gothic lēkeis; akin to Old Norse lǣknir
First recorded in 1480–90; earlier lek, leche, lyche; akin to Dutch lijk “leech, leech line,” Old Norse līk nautical term of uncertain meaning, but probably “bolt rope, leech line”
A leech is a kind of worm that feeds by sucking blood from other animals. You might find yourself needing to pull a leech off your leg after swimming in a lake. Because leeches are parasites, it's common for people to use the word as a metaphor for someone who sponges off of other people. If you have a friend who is always borrowing money but never pays it back, and who is known for requesting favors without granting them in return, you can call him a leech. The blood-sucking leech was once commonly used by doctors who treated patients by "bleeding" them, a practice that's still occasionally used in medicine today.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The homelessness charity Centrepoint was named as a response to the building by founder Rev Ken Leech, who described the tower as "an affront to the homeless".
From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025
Beginning with 1972’s “The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie,” Flo & Eddie released a series of increasingly facetious albums throughout the 1970s, but they had greater success singing harmonies for T. Rex and Cooper.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2025
Sunset gives way to star-speckled skies as you slowly make your make across snow-covered forest floor and circle around Leech Lake.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 14, 2023
Head of ringing, Dr Dave Leech, said climate change was a growing pressure, particularly for migratory birds dealing with extreme weather on several continents.
From BBC • Sep. 20, 2023
"Blackthumb keeps all the blades locked up, I told you that a hundred times. Is this for Lord Leech?"
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
