mooching

present participle of mooch
1
as in begging
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 sneaking
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 mooching Meanwhile, the palace has been besieged by loutish suitors, led by the scheming Antinous (Robert Pattinson), all of them vying for the queen’s hand in remarriage and mooching off the absent king’s food and wine. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 July 2026 On top of that, Nico is also, quite obviously, just mooching off/clinging to Mindy because he got cut off by his family. — Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mooching
Verb
  • Video on social media showed distressed shopkeepers begging young men to stop stealing their inventory—and those young men pushing them aside to grab shoes and food from their shelves.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
  • So your group chat has been begging you to host the next big viewing night, and your bank account is giving you side-eye.
    — Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Bus noise was a similar story, with the low engine rumble handled well and only some of the higher-frequency intermittent sounds sneaking through.
    — Christian de Looper, PC Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026
  • For a solid thirty minutes, the candidates defended their honor as the race’s most pro-Israel candidate — at times sneaking in jabs about their opponent.
    — Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Just a five-minute walk away, art aficionados can spend long hours wandering through the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum and the Prado museum, or take a stroll through El Retiro Park.
    — Erika Owen, Architectural Digest, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Jacaranda trees bloom in purple across the city’s streets and parks, making wandering between neighborhoods in search of milongas (tango dance halls) especially pleasant.
    — Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • However, no data center should be freeloading on my constituents in the form of higher electricity bills.
    — NBC news, NBC news, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Scientists tracking humpbacks off the coast of Australia have captured rare footage that shows clutches of the freeloading fish peeling away from their host in what looks like a high-speed game of chicken, just moments before the whale breaches.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Clarke and Henrik Stenson appeared to be in a two-man race, with Mario Tiziani lurking, until none could keep with Sabbatini and his explosive final round.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The Atlas Group primed viewers to read his documents as unstable, but the later work asks them to contend with shrunken objects, resurrected paintings, and vampires lurking in the archive.
    — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The experiment goes wrong, the Farmer disappears and a large, hairy creature begins roaming the woods around Mossingham.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
  • What’s most notable is the number of young people roaming around the market well before the crack of dawn, Chris says.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • With the Rays trailing 2-1 after Liam Hicks' RBI groundout in the fourth, Mesa was caught stealing third for the final out of the fifth with slugger Yandy Díaz at the plate.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Continue reading … DIRTY POLITICS — Antifa supporter charged with stealing GOP campaign signs in NY race to replace Stefanik.
    — , FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Gazza, who has been cruising along all episode, doesn’t bowl the judges over with his treacle pudding or his Black Forest gâteau, which is a little bit shocking.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026
  • If Mick hadn’t come cruising into that playground, lights off?
    — George Saunders, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Mooching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mooching. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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