mooched; mooching; mooches
1
intransitive
: to move slowly or apathetically : to wander aimlessly
… the rainy afternoons … spent mooching up and down the aisles of small-town pharmacies and hardware stores.—
Frederick Busch
Frederick Busch2
transitive + intransitive
: to get things from another or live off the generosity of others without providing any return payment or benefit : sponge
trying to mooch a cigarette
mooching money off her brother
has been mooching off his parents for years
plural mooches
US, informal
: one who mooches off others : moocher
The last thing he needed was another mooch … trying to sap his energy and take his time …—Steve Pond
Steve PondSynonyms
Examples of mooch in a Sentence
Verb
he's always mooching off of his friends, even though he can easily pay his own way
I suspect she's mooching around in the background and keeping an eye on us.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 31 Dec. 2024
Apple iCloud storage: $2.99 HBO: $15.99 Netflix: I just got kicked off my parents’ account so mooching on my roommate’s for now.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 2 Aug. 2024
Isiah Magsino, Town & Country, 30 June 2023
Harry recalls a particularly tense Christmas at Sandringham, marred by bitterness over the Court Circular — the annual record of the royal family’s official engagements, which inspired the press to draw conclusions each year about who was a lazy mooch and who was a workhorse.
—Meredith Blakestaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2023
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Verb
Free trial: 7 days Price: Starting at $45 per month
NBC.com
Those who are subscribed to a TV provider (or can mooch off someone who is) can watch NBC live on NBC.com or the NBC app.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 31 Dec. 2024
Apple iCloud storage: $2.99 HBO: $15.99 Netflix: I just got kicked off my parents’ account so mooching on my roommate’s for now.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 2 Aug. 2024
Noun
Some mooch for social gain, others for intellectual stimulation.
—Isiah Magsino, Town & Country, 30 June 2023
Harry recalls a particularly tense Christmas at Sandringham, marred by bitterness over the Court Circular — the annual record of the royal family’s official engagements, which inspired the press to draw conclusions each year about who was a lazy mooch and who was a workhorse.
—Meredith Blakestaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2023
See all Example Sentences for mooch
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Cite this Entry
“Mooch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mooch. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.
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