Leech — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end

a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/lˈiːtʃ/

🇬🇧British English

/lˈiːtʃ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/lˈiːtʃ/

1 syllable Say it as /lˈiːtʃ/.

Examples

In the old days, doctors routinely bled patients as part of the treatment

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

sponge hirudinean sponger bloodsucker parasite phlebotomize bleed phlebotomise

Parts of Speech

noun	carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end
noun	a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage
verb	draw blood “In the old days, doctors routinely bled patients as part of the treatment”

Word Forms

leech	verb	draw blood
parasitic	adjective	of plants or persons; having the nature or habits of a parasite or leech; living off another
parasitical	adjective	of plants or persons; having the nature or habits of a parasite or leech; living off another
sponge	verb	ask for and get free; be a parasite
leech	noun	carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end
phlebotomy	noun	surgical incision into a vein; used to treat hemochromatosis

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Blutegel

fleischfressende oder blutsaugende Wasser- oder Landwürmer, die typischerweise an jedem Ende einen Saugnapf haben

🇫🇷French

sangsue

vers aquatiques ou terrestres carnivores ou suceurs de sang ayant généralement une ventouse à chaque extrémité

🇪🇸Spanish

sanguijuela

gusanos acuáticos o terrestres carnívoros o chupadores de sangre que generalmente tienen una ventosa en cada extremo

🇮🇹Italian

sanguisuga

Vermi acquatici o terrestri carnivori o succhiatori di sangue che tipicamente hanno una ventosa a ciascuna estremità

🇳🇱Dutch

bloedzuiger

vleesetende of bloedzuigende water- of landwormen, meestal met een zuignap aan elk uiteinde

🇵🇹Portuguese

sanguessuga

vermes aquáticos ou terrestres carnívoros ou sugadores de sangue, normalmente com uma ventosa em cada extremidade

🇷🇺Russian

пиявка

плотоядные или кровососущие водные или наземные черви, обычно имеющие по присоске на каждом конце

India

🇮🇳Hindi

जोंक

मांसाहारी या खून चूसने वाले जलीय या स्थलीय कीड़े जिनके प्रत्येक सिरे पर आमतौर पर एक चूषक होता है

🇧🇩Bengali

জোঁক

মাংসাশী বা রক্তচোষা জলজ বা স্থলজ কীট সাধারণত প্রতিটি প্রান্তে একটি স্তন্যপানকারী থাকে

🇮🇳Tamil

லீச்

மாமிச உணவு அல்லது இரத்தம் உறிஞ்சும் நீர்வாழ் அல்லது நில புழுக்கள் பொதுவாக ஒவ்வொரு முனையிலும் ஒரு உறிஞ்சியைக் கொண்டிருக்கும்

🇮🇳Telugu

జలగ

మాంసాహార లేదా రక్తాన్ని పీల్చే జలచర లేదా భూసంబంధమైన పురుగులు సాధారణంగా ప్రతి చివర సక్కర్‌ను కలిగి ఉంటాయి

🇮🇳Marathi

जळू

मांसाहारी किंवा रक्त शोषणारे जलचर किंवा स्थलीय कृमी सामान्यत: प्रत्येक टोकाला शोषक असतात

🇮🇳Gujarati

જળો

માંસાહારી અથવા લોહી ચૂસતા જળચર અથવા પાર્થિવ કૃમિ સામાન્ય રીતે દરેક છેડે ચૂસનાર હોય છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಜಿಗಣೆ

ಮಾಂಸಾಹಾರಿ ಅಥವಾ ರಕ್ತ ಹೀರುವ ಜಲವಾಸಿ ಅಥವಾ ಭೂಮಿಯ ಹುಳುಗಳು ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರತಿ ತುದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಕ್ಕರ್ ಅನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರುತ್ತವೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അട്ട

മാംസഭോജിയോ രക്തം കുടിക്കുന്നതോ ആയ ജല അല്ലെങ്കിൽ കര വിരകൾക്ക് സാധാരണയായി ഓരോ അറ്റത്തും ഒരു സക്കർ ഉണ്ട്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਲੀਚ

ਮਾਸਾਹਾਰੀ ਜਾਂ ਖੂਨ ਚੂਸਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਜਲ ਜਾਂ ਧਰਤੀ ਦੇ ਕੀੜੇ ਆਮ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਹਰੇਕ ਸਿਰੇ 'ਤੇ ਚੂਸਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਹੁੰਦੇ ਹਨ

🇵🇰Urdu

جونک

گوشت خور یا خون چوسنے والے آبی یا زمینی کیڑے عام طور پر ہر سرے پر چوسنے والے ہوتے ہیں

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

水蛭

肉食性或吸血性水生或陆生蠕虫，通常两端各有一个吸盘

🇯🇵Japanese

ヒル

肉食性または吸血性の水生または陸生の虫で、通常は両端に吸盤があります。

🇰🇷Korean

거머리

육식성 또는 흡혈성 수생 또는 육상 벌레는 일반적으로 양쪽 끝에 흡반이 있습니다.

🇻🇳Vietnamese

con đỉa

giun thủy sinh hoặc trên cạn ăn thịt hoặc hút máu thường có một giác hút ở mỗi đầu

🇹🇭Thai

ปลิง

พยาธิในน้ำหรือบนบกที่กินเนื้อเป็นอาหารหรือดูดเลือด โดยทั่วไปจะมีตัวดูดอยู่ที่ปลายแต่ละด้าน

🇮🇩Indonesian

lintah

cacing air atau darat karnivora atau penghisap darah biasanya memiliki pengisap di setiap ujungnya

🇵🇭Filipino

linta

carnivorous o humihigop ng dugo na aquatic o terrestrial worm na karaniwang may pasusuhin sa bawat dulo

🇲🇾Malay

lintah

cacing akuatik atau terestrial karnivor atau penghisap darah biasanya mempunyai penyedut pada setiap hujung

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

علقة

الديدان المائية أو الأرضية آكلة اللحوم أو الماصة للدماء تحتوي عادة على مصاصة في كل طرف

🇮🇷Persian

زالو

کرم های آبزی یا خشکی گوشتخوار یا خونخوار معمولاً در هر انتها یک مکنده دارند.

🇹🇷Turkish

sülük

etobur veya kan emen suda yaşayan veya karada yaşayan, tipik olarak her iki ucunda bir emici bulunan solucanlar

🇮🇱Hebrew

עֲלוּקָה

תולעים מימיות או יבשתיות טורפות או מוצצות דם בדרך כלל יש להם פראייר בכל קצה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'leech'?

The primary meaning of 'leech' is 'carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'leech' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'leech' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'leech' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'leech' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'leech' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'leech' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'leech' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'leech' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'leech' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'leech' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted