leech: Meaning and Definition of

leech

1. any bloodsucking or carnivorous aquatic or terrestrial worm of the class Hirudinea, certain freshwater species of which were formerly much used in medicine for bloodletting.
2. a person who clings to another for personal gain, esp. without giving anything in return, and usually with the implication or effect of exhausting the other's resources; parasite.
3. an instrument used for drawing blood.

1. to apply leeches to, so as to bleed.
2. to cling to and feed upon or drain, as a leech: His relatives leeched him until his entire fortune was exhausted.
3. to cure; heal.

1. to hang on to a person in the manner of a leech: She leeched on to him for dear life.

leech

1. a physician.

leech

1. either of the lateral edges of a square sail.
2. the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail. See diag. under

Leech

1. 1893–1974, U.S. historian, novelist, and biographer.