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
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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
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3
as in wandering
to move about from place to place aimlessly
kids on vacation mooching about the house and looking for something to do
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for mooching
Verb
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Stuffed with a bacon-cream cheese filling, these poppers are begging to make an appearance this Fourth of July.
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Setting the factory ablaze and escaping, Naim pauses for a minute when the Ryan-like monster appears at a window, begging to be released and claiming to be the human-being.
Verb
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The former president was caught sneaking Obama what was later said to be a cough drop during the funeral.
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However, in February, Batula broke up with her husband, Kyle Cooke, and was rumored to be sneaking around with Wilson until they got caught by fans who spotted them out.
Verb
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My favorite part of my trip to Omaha, Nebraska, for the College World Series left me wandering in the middle of the night somewhere between the ballpark and my hotel.
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Police in Holly, Michigan, say an 18-month-old boy who was seen wandering on a Ring camera on Friday has been identified and located.
Verb
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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.
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The specter of freeloading corporations using more space, water, and energy for AI processing has defined the race for the 30th House of Delegates district, well outside DC.
Verb
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Finally, book eleven, Bernard Malmud’s The Fixer, was found lurking on a twelfth-grade syllabus.
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To figure out why, an international team investigated the proteins lurking inside of the skeletal remains.
Verb
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Bone Jovi spends much of his time roaming the galleries, greeting visitors and keeping watch over the collection.
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The San Jose Police Emerald Society Pipe and Drum band will be piping and drumming at Willow Glen Town Square on Lincoln Avenue, and a pop-up choir will be roaming VTA light-rail trains and stations throughout the day.
Verb
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As the berries begin to ripen, cover the pots with netting to keep birds and other animals from stealing your harvest.
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The technology’s ability to reduce theft and fraud is especially intriguing, given the crimes are not generally a person or group simply stealing freight.
Verb
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The luxury lines Seabourn and Silversea both offer expedition cruising (on top of their traditional cruise products), and the luxury tour company Abercrombie & Kent also charters Ponant ships for expedition cruises to the polar regions.
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The Sooners lost their opening game of the SEC tournament in May, but have lost just once since, cruising through the NCAA tournament en route to the program's first title game appearance since 2022.
Cite this Entry
“Mooching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mooching. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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