leech

[ leech ]

See synonyms for leech on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

to hang on to a person in the manner of a leech: She leeched on to him for dear life.

Origin of leech

First recorded before 900; Middle English lech(e), Old English lǣce, lȳce; replacing (by association with leech²) 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”

Other words for leech

2	bloodsucker; extortionist; sponger

See synonyms for leech on Thesaurus.com

Other words from leech

leechlike, adjective

Other definitions for leech (2 of 4)

leech²

[ leech ]

nounArchaic.

a physician.

Origin of leech

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

Other definitions for leech (3 of 4)

leech³

or leach

[ leech ]

nounNautical.

either of the lateral edges of a square sail.
the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.

Origin of leech

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”

Other definitions for Leech (4 of 4)

Leech

[ leech ]

noun

Margaret, 1893–1974, U.S. historian, novelist, and biographer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use leech in a sentence

In Tyson he admitted that he was addicted to “leeches,” and his downfall was his own fault.
Mike Tyson: Why Do We Forgive Him? | Tricia Romano | May 2, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
I think Mike really did the best he could with all the leeches and the other people around him expecting him to never lose.
My Friend Iron Mike | Ice-T | April 27, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
Sir Alexander Pepps recommended leeches to the throat: Mr. Brook disapproved of them.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
Low cunning often held its own; hundreds of lazy leeches settled on labor's bare arm and bled it.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend | Charles Reade
It was rather dangerous to bathe in some of the lagoons on account of the leeches that infested the waters.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont | Louis de Rougemont

The next cricket season this champion was disabled by a severe sprain of the wrist, needing leeches, splints, and London advice.
Life of John Coleridge Patteson | Charlotte M. Yonge
A tug and a couple of lighters were stuck against her icy sides, and, like leeches, were sucking from her what they could.
Blow The Man Down | Holman Day

British Dictionary definitions for leech (1 of 2)

leech¹

/ (liːtʃ) /

noun

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
cling like a leech to cling or adhere persistently to something

verb

(tr) to use leeches to suck the blood of (a person), as a method of medical treatment

Origin of leech

Old English lǣce, lœce; related to Middle Dutch lieke

Derived forms of leech

leechlike, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for leech (2 of 2)

leech²

leach

/ (liːtʃ) /

noun

nautical the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail or either of the vertical edges of a squaresail

Origin of leech

C15: of Germanic origin; compare Dutch lijk

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

Browse