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freeload

[free-lohd, -lohd]
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR freeload ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object) Informal.

to take advantage of others for free food, entertainment, etc.

verb (used with object)

to get by freeloading: He freeloaded several meals a week.

RELATED WORDS

sponge, barnacle, moocher, leech, parasite

Origin of freeload

1950–55, Americanism; back formation from freeloader (free + load + -er1)
Related formsfree·load·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for freeloader

freeloader

noun

slang a person who habitually depends on the charity of others for food, shelter, etc
Derived Formsfreeloading, noun

freeload

verb

(intr) slang to act as a freeloader; sponge
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for freeloader
n.

also free-loader, by 1939, from free (adj.) + agent noun from load (v.). Related: Freeloading. As a verb, freeload is attested by 1967.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper