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.

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.

Archaic . an instrument used for drawing blood.

to apply leeches to, so as to bleed.

to cling to and feed upon or drain, as a leech

His relatives leeched him until his entire fortune was exhausted.

Archaic . to cure; heal.

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

She leeched on to him for dear life.

noun

barnacle , bloodsucker * , bum * , freeloader , scrounger , sponge * , [[sycophantnotes:leach means to remove the soluble constituents from by subjecting to the action of percolating water or other liquid; a leech is a carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic worms typically having a sucker at each end - or a follower who hangs around a host in hope of gain]] , bloodsucker , hanger-on , sponge , parasite , worm

verb

sponge*