mooch
Americanverb (used with object)
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to borrow (a small item or amount) without intending to return or repay it.
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to get or take without paying or at another's expense; sponge.
He always mooches cigarettes.
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to beg.
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to steal.
verb (used without object)
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to skulk or sneak.
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to loiter or wander about.
noun
verb
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to loiter or walk aimlessly
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(intr) to behave in an apathetic way
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(intr) to sneak or lurk; skulk
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(tr) to cadge
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(tr) to steal
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mooch
1425–75; late Middle English, apparently variant of Middle English michen < Old French muchier to skulk, hide
Explanation
To mooch is to take advantage of other people's generosity without giving anything in return. If you constantly mooch rides from your friend, she's going to get tired of agreeing to drive you around. When you mooch food from your neighbors — showing up every night at dinnertime, or appearing uninvited at their family barbecues — you help yourself to free meals. A person in the habit of doing this is also called a mooch. The word's original definition, "pretend poverty," might stem from the Middle English word mucchen, "to be stingy," or literally, "to keep coins in one's nightcap."
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.
She thinks she has an answer: The friend makes a lot of money and the guy, a struggling medical student, is looking to mooch.
From Slate • Apr. 26, 2024
Gifts as simple as surf wax or a ding repair kit can go a long way for surfers — and the other riders they always mooch off of.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 2, 2022
Not sure how to mooch, much less where to borrow a fishing boat?
From Seattle Times • Sep. 6, 2022
My husband is wavering, but I think it's totally unnecessary and I don't want to spend my vacation feeling like a mooch.
From Washington Post • Apr. 9, 2022
Paddy tells the Question, He didn’t go on the mooch and I didn’t either.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
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.
