<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>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</li><li>a person who clings to another for personal gain, especially without giving anything in return, and usually with the implication or effect of exhausting the other's resources; parasite</li><li>an instrument used for drawing blood</li></ul><p><strong>Synonyms</strong></p><ul><li>sponger</li><li>extortionist</li><li>bloodsucker</li></ul><p><strong>Verb (used with object)</strong></p><ul><li>to apply leeches to, so as to bleed</li><li>to cling to and feed upon or drain, as a leech: His relatives leeched him until his entire fortune was exhausted</li><li>Archaic. to cure; heal</li></ul><p><strong>Verb (used without object)</strong></p><ul><li>to hang on to a person in the manner of a leech: She leeched on to him for dear life</li></ul>