leech

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leech

bloodsucking worm; extortioner; sponger

Not to be confused with:

leach – to dissolve out substances; to percolate

leech¹

(lēch)

1. Any of various chiefly aquatic carnivorous or bloodsucking annelid worms of the class (or subclass) Hirudinea, of which one species (Hirudo medicinalis) was formerly widely used by physicians for therapeutic bloodletting.

2. One that preys on or clings to another; a parasite.

3. Archaic A physician.

v. leeched, leech·ing, leech·es

v.tr.

1. To bleed with leeches.

2. To drain the essence or exhaust the resources of.

v.intr.

To attach oneself to another in the manner of a leech.

[Middle English leche, physician, leech, from Old English lǣce; see leg- in Indo-European roots.]

leech²

(lēch)

n. Nautical

1. Either vertical edge of a square sail.

2. The after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.

[Middle English leche, probably from Middle Low German līk, leech line; see leig- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

leech

(liːtʃ)

1. (Animals) 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 animals. See also horseleech, medicinal leech

2. a person who clings to or preys on another person

3. (Medicine)

a. an archaic word for physician

b. (in combination): leechcraft.

4. cling like a leech to cling or adhere persistently to something

(Medicine) (tr) to use leeches to suck the blood of (a person), as a method of medical treatment

[Old English lǣce, lœce; related to Middle Dutch lieke]

ˈleechˌlike adj

leech

(liːtʃ) or

leach

(Nautical Terms) nautical the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail or either of the vertical edges of a squaresail

[C15: of Germanic origin; compare Dutch lijk]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

leech¹

(litʃ)
n.

1. any bloodsucking annelid worm of the class Hirudinea, as the European Hirudo medicinalis, once used widely for bloodletting.

2. a person who clings to another for personal gain, esp. without giving anything in return; parasite.

3. Archaic. an instrument used for drawing blood.

v.t.

4. to apply leeches to, so as to bleed.

5. to cling to and feed upon or drain, as a leech does; exhaust; deplete.

6. Archaic. to cure; heal.

v.i.

7. to hang on to a person in the manner of a leech.

[before 900; Middle English leche, Old English lǣce; replacing (by association with leech²) Middle English liche, Old English lȳce, c. Middle Dutch lieke]

leech²

(litʃ)

n. Archaic.

a physician.

[before 1150; Middle English leche, Old English lǣce; c. Old Saxon lāki, Old High German lāhhi, Gothic lēkeis; akin to Old Norse lǣknir]

leech³

(litʃ)

n.

1. either of the lateral edges of a square sail.

2. the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.

[1350–1400; leche, Middle English lich(e)]

leech

(lēch)

Any of various worms that live in water and suck blood from other animals, including humans. One species, the medicinal leech, has been used in bloodletting and in helping to heal wounds and surgical grafts. Leeches are annelids, related to earthworms.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

leech

Past participle: leeched
Gerund: leeching

Imperative
leech
leech

Present
I leech
you leech
he/she/it leeches
we leech
you leech
they leech

Preterite
I leeched
you leeched
he/she/it leeched
we leeched
you leeched
they leeched

Present Continuous
I am leeching
you are leeching
he/she/it is leeching
we are leeching
you are leeching
they are leeching

Present Perfect
I have leeched
you have leeched
he/she/it has leeched
we have leeched
you have leeched
they have leeched

Past Continuous
I was leeching
you were leeching
he/she/it was leeching
we were leeching
you were leeching
they were leeching

Past Perfect
I had leeched
you had leeched
he/she/it had leeched
we had leeched
you had leeched
they had leeched

Future
I will leech
you will leech
he/she/it will leech
we will leech
you will leech
they will leech

Future Perfect
I will have leeched
you will have leeched
he/she/it will have leeched
we will have leeched
you will have leeched
they will have leeched

Future Continuous
I will be leeching
you will be leeching
he/she/it will be leeching
we will be leeching
you will be leeching
they will be leeching

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been leeching
you have been leeching
he/she/it has been leeching
we have been leeching
you have been leeching
they have been leeching

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been leeching
you will have been leeching
he/she/it will have been leeching
we will have been leeching
you will have been leeching
they will have been leeching

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been leeching
you had been leeching
he/she/it had been leeching
we had been leeching
you had been leeching
they had been leeching

Conditional
I would leech
you would leech
he/she/it would leech
we would leech
you would leech
they would leech

Past Conditional
I would have leeched
you would have leeched
he/she/it would have leeched
we would have leeched
you would have leeched
they would have leeched

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	leech - carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end bloodsucker, hirudinean annelid, annelid worm, segmented worm - worms with cylindrical bodies segmented both internally and externally class Hirudinea, Hirudinea - hermaphroditic aquatic or terrestrial or parasitic annelids Hirudo medicinalis, medicinal leech - large European freshwater leech formerly used for bloodletting horseleech - any of several large freshwater leeches
	2.	leech - a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage parasite, sponger, sponge follower - a person who accepts the leadership of another
Verb	1.	leech - draw blood; "In the old days, doctors routinely bled patients as part of the treatment" phlebotomise, phlebotomize, bleed practice of medicine, medicine - the learned profession that is mastered by graduate training in a medical school and that is devoted to preventing or alleviating or curing diseases and injuries; "he studied medicine at Harvard" care for, treat - provide treatment for; "The doctor treated my broken leg"; "The nurses cared for the bomb victims"; "The patient must be treated right away or she will die"; "Treat the infection with antibiotics"

leech

noun parasite, hanger-on, sycophant, freeloader (slang), sponger (informal), ligger (slang), bloodsucker (informal) They're just a bunch of leeches cadging off others!

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

leech

noun

One who depends on another for support without reciprocating:

bloodsucker, hanger-on, parasite, sponge.

Slang: freeloader.

verb

To take advantage of the generosity of others:

Informal: sponge.

Slang: freeload.

Translations

عَلَق

пиявица

pijavice

igle

Blutegel Egel

βδέλλα

hirudo

sanguijuela

kaan

iilimatojuotikas

sangsue

עלוקה

pijavica

pióca

igla, blóîsuga

sanguisuga

ヒル

hirudo

dėlė

dēle

pijavica

pijavka

igel

sülük

đỉa

水蛭

leech

[liːtʃ] N → sanguijuela f (also fig)
to stick to sb like a leech → pegarse a algn como una lapa

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

leech

[ˈliːtʃ] n

(= animal) → sangsue f

(fig) (pejorative) (= person) → sangsue f

leech

n → Blutegel m; (fig) → Blutsauger(in) m(f)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

leech

[liːtʃ] n → sanguisuga

leech

(liːtʃ) noun

a kind of blood-sucking worm.

leech

n. sanguijuela, gusano anélido acuático chupador de sangre;

artificial ___ → ventosa.

leech

n sanguijuela

References in classic literature ?

"What happeneth unto me!" he exclaimed, "WHO preoccupieth me so much in this life as this one man, namely Zarathustra, and that one animal that liveth on blood, the leech?

View in context

Cobra-poison none may leech. Even so with Cobra-speech.

View in context

It soon proved its efficacy, and redeemed the leech's pledge.

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But he had anticipated Charley's move, and his own sail peaked higher than ever, while a whole extra cloth had been added to the after leech.

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Thus it came that, on the morning of the fourth day, he called Little John to him, and told him that he could not shake the fever from him, and that he would go to his cousin, the prioress of the nunnery near Kirklees, in Yorkshire, who was a skillful leech, and he would have her open a vein in his arm and take a little blood from him, for the bettering of his health.

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Meanwhile a leech bound up his hand with ointment, promising him that he should soon have its use again.

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All the herbal applications of Tinor, united with the severer discipline of the old leech, and the affectionate nursing of Kory-Kory, had failed to relieve me.

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It was while he was still lying on the leech's pallet that he had submitted to the interrogations of Philippe Lheulier and the official inquisitors, which had annoyed him greatly.

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Todd was far from manifesting any displeasure at this invasion of his rights, but made way for the new leech with an air that expressed a willingness to gratify the humors of his patient, now that the all-important part of the business was so successfully performed, and nothing remained to be done but what any child might effect, indeed, he whispered as much to Monsieur Le Quoi, when he said:

View in context

"Right so the king and Merlin departed, and went until an hermit that was a good man and a great leech. So the hermit searched all his wounds and gave him good salves; so the king was there three days, and then were his wounds well amended that he might ride and go, and so departed.

View in context

Nay, were Front-de-B uf afraid to justify a deed so open, let the leech but give his patient a wrong draught let the chamberlain, or the nurse who tends him, but pluck the pillow from his head, and Wilfred in his present condition, is sped without the effusion of blood.

View in context

what a leech! We must, however, submit to the fellow.' Now, Conrart, did he say so, or did he not?"

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