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Glite Dictionary
🧑‍🦱 To get for free 🧑‍🦱 A freeloader
to mooch

to mooch

12 8.5
To ask others for food, money, or help and not pay for it
  • verb
  • /muːtʃ/
  • Informal
translation icon : gorronear
  • He often mooches off his parents instead of finding a job to support himself.
  • mooch a ride
  • mooch food
  • mooch money

Examples

  • I've mooched lots of meals lately.

    Murphy's Romance (1985)

  • Because when we were kids, George used to mooch off me.

    Wanderlust (2012)

  • You want to move into my house and mooch off of my family?

    Babes (2024)

  • Be prepared to mooch off your friends or go hungry!

    Blog text (31)

  • " Hey, get a job, quit mooching off me."

    Academic text (1995)

  • Grow up, get a job like the rest of us, and quit mooching off other people's money!

    Blog text (16)

  • People who receive welfare benefits of various kinds are, by and large, not mooching off of others.

    Blog text (11)

  • If the boss wants to talk to me, I'm just up ahead, mooching a lunch from a farmer's wife.

    Sullivan's Travels (1941)

  • Quit mooching off me.

    Get the Gringo (2012)

  • I'd pity you if you weren't mooching off my tax dollar.

    Blog text (12)

Synonyms

to leech
vsto mooch
  • Offensive
8 7.5

To take advantage of someone by always using their help or money without giving anything back

covers both occasional asking and repeated parasitic taking
to mooch off
vsto mooch
  • Informal
5 8.6

To get food, money, or help from someone without paying

is broader and also covers acting like a parasite when taking
to leech off
vsto mooch
  • Offensive
4 7.9

To take money, food, or help from someone without giving anything back

is similar but can include single or casual requests, not only habit
to sponge
vsto mooch
  • Informal
2 7.9

To get money, food, or help from others while giving nothing back

can also mean simple asking rather than long term exploitation
to cadge
vsto mooch
  • Informal
1 9.8

To ask someone for something and get it without paying

leans more toward taking advantage and acting without return
to grub
vsto mooch
  • UK
1 8.5

To ask for and take food or money from others without paying

focuses more on taking without giving rather than just asking
to bum
vsto mooch
  • Informal
1 7.5

To get something free by asking someone

implies more habitual taking or parasitic behaviour rather than casual asking

Antonyms

to pay
∞ 1.0

To give money for something you buy or owe

to contribute
883 2.7

To give money, help, or ideas to make something work

Phrasal Verbs

to mooch off
  • Informal
5 8.6

To get food, money, or help from someone without paying

How Much

to freeload
  • Informal
6 7.5
to mooch
  • Informal
12 8.5
to scrounge
  • Informal
12 6.8
to beg
417 1.0
to ask
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

mooch infinitive
mooched past
mooched past participle
mooching present participle
mooches third person singular

Etymology

Mooch probably comes from an old Scottish verb mooch meaning 'to hang around'. So to mooch is to hang around and ask for or take food, rides, or help without paying, which is why it now means to get things from others for free.