noun / verb
leech
LEECH/liːtʃ/
A parasitic worm that takes blood from a host.
A leech feeds on a woman's bare ankle in the shallow water.
Etymology
Old English læce already named the bloodsucking animal. Although often connected with the word meaning “physician,” the OED treats the animal name as apparently distinct, later assimilated to it.
In context
a couple new species of parasites one of them is a leech it's a submarine leech that lives on the giant kelp fish
More examples
- Doctors sometimes use leeches to improve blood flow after surgery.
- She calls her freeloading roommate a leech.
- He leeches money from his relatives instead of finding work.
Forms
leech · leeches · leeched · leeching
Similar words
- parasite
- Includes organisms that take nutrients from hosts without drinking blood.
- bloodsucker
- Also names other blood-feeding creatures, such as ticks and mosquitoes.