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Leech

/liːtʃ/

An aquatic blood-sucking annelid of class Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis.

Full Dictionary Entry

📖 Definitions of "Leech"

noun

1
An aquatic blood-sucking annelid of class Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis.
2
A person who derives profit from others in a parasitic fashion.
3
A glass tube designed for drawing blood from damaged tissue by means of a vacuum.

verb

1
To apply a leech medicinally, so that it sucks blood from the patient.
2
To drain (resources) without giving back.
"Bert leeched hundreds of files from the BBS, but never uploaded anything in return."

🔄 Synonyms of "Leech"

7 synonyms found via WordNet and Google Books.

Word	Definition
parasitenoun	(biology) An organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit from living on or in that other organism, while not contributing towards that other organism sufficiently to cover the cost to that other organism.
bleedverb	(intransitive, of a person, animal or body part) To shed blood through an injured blood vessel.
minionnoun	A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.
spongenoun	(countable) Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica.
bloodsuckernoun	An animal that drinks the blood of others, especially by sucking blood through a puncture wound; a hemovore.
hirudineannoun	Any leech of the subclass Hirudinea
phlebotomizeverb	(transitive) To perform a phlebotomy on (a person): to open a vein of (a person) to withdraw or let blood.

💡 Words with a Similar Meaning to "Leech"

Found via reverse dictionary — words that share a conceptual meaning.

Word	Definition
hirudineannoun	Any leech of the subclass Hirudinea
spongenoun	(countable) Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica.
bloodsuckernoun	An animal that drinks the blood of others, especially by sucking blood through a puncture wound; a hemovore.
phlebotomizeverb	(transitive) To perform a phlebotomy on (a person): to open a vein of (a person) to withdraw or let blood.
bleednoun	An incident of bleeding, as in haemophilia.
parasitenoun	(biology) An organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit from living on or in that other organism, while not contributing towards that other organism sufficiently to cover the cost to that other organism.
minionnoun	A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.
tadpolenoun	A young toad or frog in its larval stage of development that lives in water, has a tail and no legs, and, like a fish, breathes through gills.
fallnoun	The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
gatherernoun	A person who gathers things.
freeloadernoun	(colloquial) One who does not contribute or pay appropriately; one who gets a free ride, etc. without paying a fair share.
wilkinsonnoun	An English surname originating as a patronymic.
leachnoun	A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali.
land-leechnoun	(perjorative) A landlord; a person who makes money from renting housing. Often used by people who believe it is an unproductive, unfair and/or exploitative way to earn a living.
water-leechnoun	An leech that inhabits fresh water; an aquatic leech.
leechlinenoun	(nautical) A line attached to the leech ropes of sails, passing up through blocks on the yards, to haul the leeches by.
lecudinidnoun	Any parasitic alveolate of the family Lecudinidae
lernaeannoun	Alternative form of Lernean. [A native or inhabitant of Lerna.]
leafeaternoun	Any organism that consumes leaves.
leech linenoun	(nautical) A line for tightening the leech of a triangular mainsail to prevent it from fluttering.