mooch

1
as in to beg
to live by relying on someone else's generosity or hospitality without sharing in the cost or responsibility he's always mooching off of his friends, even though he can easily pay his own way

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to sneak
to move about in a sly or secret manner I suspect she's mooching around in the background and keeping an eye on us

Synonyms & Similar Words

3

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mooch Her family wants to mooch off her success while also criticizing her success. Lydia Patrick, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025 The exchange seemed to show real feelings and judgments — that the Europeans are mooching and that any American military action, no matter how clearly in American interests as well, should be somehow paid for by other beneficiaries. Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025 Not for Chelsea, obviously, whom he’s already once told to go find a richer boyfriend to mooch off. Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 2 Mar. 2025 Anyway, my friend and I were able to mooch a ride from him to that wonderful institution known as LAX, land of inconvenience, confusion, disdain and dirty bathrooms. Marla Jo Fisher, Orange County Register, 26 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mooch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mooch
Verb
  • When all 16 of her campers and her co-counselors were safely accounted for at the pavilion, Ainslie heard campers from another cabin — one that housed some of the camp’s youngest children — begging for help.
    Toria Sheffield, People.com, 12 July 2025
  • But when Dexter relapsed back into killing and exposed his son to the family trade, the homecoming turned sour and Dexter begged his kid to shoot him–– and Harrison obliged.
    Hunter Ingram, Variety, 11 July 2025
Verb
  • While Lian was staring in the mirror practicing her hows and lows and preparing for her future, Wenyu was sneaking out of prep class more and more frequently to pull petty pranks with her new boyfriend.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2025
  • At the end of Season 2, In-ho so graciously betrays everybody and eventually sneaks away from the pack, fakes his own death of the walkie talkie, and then puts his mask back on and punishes Gi-hun for causing this whole revolt and shoots and kills his best friend right in front of him.
    Jim Halterman, Variety, 1 July 2025
Verb
  • The shelter added that Captain ended up at Bentonville after a woman found the dog wandering near a road while traveling in Missouri.
    Moná Thomas, People.com, 5 July 2025
  • Read a book, breathe deeply or just let your mind wander.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2025
Verb
  • And, more broadly, that work requirements incentivize people to work and prevent able-bodied, working-age people from freeloading off of hard-working Americans.
    Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 26 June 2025
  • After less than 24 hours on the ground in the Netherlands, Trump headed back to Washington having secured a major policy change he's pushed for since 2017: a significant boost in defense spending by other NATO countries that the president has for years accused of freeloading off the United States.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 June 2025
Verb
  • These brief Charley moments are frankly much more dynamic than any repetitive scene of Dexter lurking around his son.
    Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 11 July 2025
  • The incident comes as paranoia surrounding the possibility of a serial killer lurking within the New England region grips the area following a series of unexplained deaths in recent months.
    Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 10 July 2025
Verb
  • Such broad, open spaces were essential to the origins of the giant sloths, and so creating wide-open spaces helps spur the evolution of giants to roam such environments.
    Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 July 2025
  • Dobson’s a mobile skater who can roam around the offensive zone to extend the cycle.
    Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 10 July 2025
Verb
  • This attack works through thousands of dangerous websites, stealing credit card or PayPal details as soon as they’re entered.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
  • The case filed in Georgia charges four North Korean IT workers with stealing virtual currency worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from their employers.
    CBS News, CBS News, 1 July 2025
Verb
  • Iris Delgado, 33, has strolled the Home Depot parking lot nearly every day with a cart of water bottles for day laborers and a cellphone to occasionally livestream.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2025
  • The former couple and their daughter Daisy, along with Flynn, enjoyed a day on the water, later strolling through a coastal town.
    Hannah Sacks, People.com, 9 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mooch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mooch. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

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