leech
/liːtʃ/ (bre, ipa) · /liːtʃ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈlēch/ (ame, mw)
leech — noun
- leechsingular
- leechesplural
1. a small, soft-bodied worm, usually black or brown, found in damp ground or fresh
a small, soft-bodied worm, usually black or brown, found in damp ground or freshwater, that sticks to a person or animal's skin and feeds by sucking blood.
Arjun pulled three leeches off his ankles after wading through the rice paddy.
pull leeches off [body part]
The forest stream was full of small black leeches that clung to the children's legs.
leech clung to [body part] — typical action verb
Doctors once used leeches to draw blood from sick patients before modern medicine arrived.
Yael felt something soft on her neck and screamed when she saw the fat leech.
Hikers in the wet forest wear long socks to keep leeches off their skin.
- bloodsucker
general label for any blood-feeding creature; less specific than leech
文法句型
a leech
leeches in/on [place]
用法筆記
Often appears with verbs of attaching or removing: 'a leech attached itself to', 'pull a leech off', 'a leech dropped off'. Plural 'leeches' is more common than the singular outside of medical contexts.
常見錯誤
2. an unkind word for someone who keeps taking money, food, or favours from another
an unkind word for someone who keeps taking money, food, or favours from another person without giving anything back, often by staying close to that person.
Isabela's cousin turned out to be a leech who lived in her flat for two years without paying rent.
be a leech (predicative noun)
After the lottery win, Reuben said his old friends were just leeches looking for free money.
plural 'leeches' for a group of spongers
The old singer's manager was a leech who took most of her income for thirty years.
Hamza warned the new student to stay away from those leeches at the back of the class.
Why are you still letting that leech sleep on your sofa and eat your food?
- sponger
very close in meaning; equally informal and negative
- parasite
stronger and more literary; suggests harm, not just dependence
- freeloader
American English; focuses on taking free things rather than long-term attachment
- contributor
someone who gives back rather than only takes
文法句型
a leech on someone
用法筆記
Strongly negative and personal — describes a relationship of one-sided taking, not a single act. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense always refers to a person, never to the actual worm. Often used as a complement after 'be' or 'become' ('he became a leech').
常見錯誤
leech — verb
- leechpresent simple I / you / we / they
- leeches3rd person singular
- leeching-ing form
- leechedpast simple
1. to keep getting money, food, or favours from someone else when you have not earn
to keep getting money, food, or favours from someone else when you have not earned them and do not give anything back — for example, an adult child who lives at home and never pays for groceries.
Abigail's brother has been leeching off their parents since he finished college five years ago.
leech off [someone] — most common pattern
Stop leeching free Wi-Fi from the café next door and pay for your own internet.
leech [resource] from [place / person]
Élise refused to leech money from her grandmother just because the rent was high.
The older boys at the camp leeched snacks off the younger kids every afternoon.
Quan was tired of his roommate leeching off him for rent, food, and bus fares.
- support
to provide money or help to someone, the opposite role
文法句型
leech off someone
leech something from someone
用法筆記
Almost always used with 'off' (most common) or 'from'. The subject is the taker; the object after the preposition is the person being taken from. Strongly negative — implies the speaker disapproves.