Leech
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈliːt͡ʃ/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Leech is a noun meaning A typically aquatic blood-sucking annelid of the subclass Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis.
Meaning
A typically aquatic blood-sucking annelid of the subclass Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis.
More Meanings
- (figuratively) A person who derives advantage from others in a parasitic fashion.
- (medicine, dated) A glass tube designed for drawing blood from damaged tissue by means of a vacuum.
- (transitive, literally) To apply a leech medicinally, so that it sucks blood from the patient.
- (transitive, figuratively) To drain (resources) without giving back.
- (Germanic paganism) A healer.
- (archaic) A physician.
- (archaic, rare) To treat, cure or heal.
Example Sentences
Near-synonyms: mooch, suck down
Bert leeched hundreds of files from the BBS, but never uploaded anything in return.
The poppy made him sleep and while he slept they leeched him to drain off the bad blood.
The leech on his leg had swelled to more than five inches long, puffed and swollen on his blood.
Word Forms
- leeches
- leeching
- leeched
Synonyms for leech
Depending on context, synonyms include parasite, sponger, bloodsucker, vampire, barber, doctor.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include hirudinean, sponge, bloodsucker, phlebotomize, bleed, parasite.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.