LEECH | Definition and Meaning

Definition of Leech

Leech

leech

Definition/Meaning

(noun)

a worm that usually lives in/around fresh water and is characterized by a flattened and segmented body with suckers on either end that they use to suck the blood of vertebrates;

e.g. As I was wading through the pond, a leech attached itself to my leg.

(noun)

someone who figuratively attaches themself to another person or group in order to gain or profit from the connection, typically by taking advantage of the person/group;

e.g. He turned into a leech who took every opportunity to obtain free things from his friends.

(noun)

in old usage, a doctor/physician, surgeon, or some other healer (so called due to the obsolete medical practice of blood letting, which often used leeches);

e.g. When she fell ill, the leech was summoned to see what was wrong.

(verb)

to figuratively attach oneself to another person/group in order to habitually rely on and/or exploit them;

e.g. They decided not to let her leech off of them for any longer.

(verb)

to drain or exhaust some source of its contents/substance;

e.g. Their methods leech the soil of all of its useful substances.

(verb)

in old usage, to bleed someone (i.e. subject them to the obsolete medical procedure of blood letting) using leeches;

e.g. The doctor tried to leech the patient to cure his ailment.