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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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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Medical definitions for leech
leech
[ lēch ]
n.
Any of various chiefly aquatic bloodsucking or carnivorous annelid worms of the class Hirudinea, one species of which (Hirudo medicinalis) was formerly used by physicians to bleed patients.
v.
To bleed with leeches.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.