(~es)
1.
A ~ is a small animal which looks like a worm and lives in water. Leeches feed by attaching themselves to other animals and sucking their blood.
N-COUNT
2.
If you describe someone as a ~, you disapprove of them because they deliberately depend on other people, often making money out of them.
They’re just a bunch of ~es cadging off others!
N-COUNT disapproval