leech
1[ leech ]
/ litʃ /
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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)
verb (used without object)
to hang on to a person in the manner of a leech: She leeched on to him for dear life.
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Origin of leech
1First 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 FROM leech
leechlike, adjectiveOther definitions for leech (2 of 4)
leech2
[ leech ]
/ litʃ /
noun Archaic.
a physician.
Origin of leech
2First 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 ]
/ litʃ /
noun Nautical.
either of the lateral edges of a square sail.
the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
Origin of leech
3First 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 ]
/ litʃ /
noun
Margaret, 1893–1974, U.S. historian, novelist, and biographer.
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use leech in a sentence
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 animalsSee 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
Derived forms of leech
leechlike, adjectiveWord Origin for leech
Old English lǣce, lœce; related to Middle Dutch lieke
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
Word Origin for leech
C15: of Germanic origin; compare Dutch lijk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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