like a leech
1
8.3
- idiom
- Offensive
:
como una sanguijuela
- When one hit me, it stuck like a leech.
Examples
-
You were like a leech, swimming in here when my father died and attaching yourself to the family to suck whatever you could out of it.
-
The camera booms down low to reveal Max Shady under the van, hanging on like a leech, his back only inches from the road.
Fiction book (1993) -
You were like a leech, swimming in here when my father died and attaching yourself to the family to suck whatever you could out of it.
Fiction book (1995) -
Sometimes I feel like a leech on Erik's family, you know.
-
Yes, well, I guess having access to all her money made him feel like a leech.
Synonyms
75
7.8
To use people who are weak or trusting to get what you want
12
8.5
To ask others for food, money, or help and not pay for it
4
7.9
To take money, food, or help from someone without giving anything back
To stay near someone and take advantage of them
To take things from other people without giving anything back
Try to get something from people when they are in trouble in a greedy way
Antonyms
How Dependent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The simile 'like a leech' directly compares a person to a leech, so a learner who knows 'like' and 'leech' (as a parasitic creature or someone who lives off others) can infer excessive dependence or exploitation. This follows a transparent simile/comparison pattern found across languages, making the meaning derivable from the constituents for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Like a leech comes from the small animal leech, which sticks to a person's skin and sucks blood. Because it holds on and keeps taking, calling someone like a leech means they 'depend on' others and 'take from them without giving back'.