bloodsucking
Americanadjective
-
being or relating to an animal or mythical being that feeds on blood.
Bloodsucking insects are common in this part of the world.
In the film, bloodsucking aliens descend on a small town.
-
being or relating to a person or organization who preys on, exploits, or takes advantage of others.
He denounced his rival politicians as bloodsucking fraudsters living large on their constituents' money.
Etymology
Origin of bloodsucking
First recorded in 1545–55; blood ( def. ) + suck ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. )
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.
I asked whether Dafoe thought a movie about a bloodsucking, diseased creature and the horror he unleashes on a 19th Century German town was the perfect antidote to a day of family festivities.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2024
Ticks are small, eight-legged bloodsucking parasites — arachnids, not insects — that feed on animals and sometimes people.
From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2024
The tiny, bloodsucking parasites that infest our scalps?
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 7, 2023
The slithery fish began to evolve into proficient hunters, and the new fossils hint that today’s bloodsucking species evolved from flesh-eating ancestors.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 31, 2023
And when I came up to the cage to see these ugly bloodsucking creatures, I had to look right into this little kid’s face that had a smirk on it.
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
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.
