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
as in wandering
to move about from place to place aimlessly
kids on vacation mooching about the house and looking for something to do
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mooching
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
Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mooching
Verb
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Those in charge — as in charge as anybody can be with every policy just a judge’s ruling away from being null and void — have been begging Congress for help for years, but to no avail.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
10 Jan. 2026
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His parents also pleaded with him to drop the weapon while begging the cops not to shoot their son.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That's fine by Rodgers, who knows a thing or two about sneaking in the playoffs and going on a run.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
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Harry proposed 10 months later in November 2017, and the couple spent their first Sandringham Christmas together the next month before sneaking away to the French Riviera for New Year’s 2018.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The human brain is highly susceptible to often unproductive mind-wandering, and modern technology has only made the problem worse.—
Harvard Business Review,
Harvard Business Review,
7 Jan. 2026
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The cafe is known for its panoramic view of small planes taking off or landing but also for past concerns about customers wandering off the driveway into the path of taxiing planes.—
Bud Kennedy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 Jan. 2026
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.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
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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.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Their debut album, Forever, sounds like temporarily regressing to your childhood self while tripping—a kind of gleaming innocence desperately fending off the darkness of adulthood lurking at the periphery.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
6 Nov. 2025
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The Longhorns, Sooners, Miami and USC are among some of the higher-profile teams lurking on the fringe of the bracket, while schools such as Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Utah could still find a way to crash the party.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Unlike coyotes, which often range even in daytime as pairs or small family groups, bobcats and foxes spend the winter roaming their territory in solitude.—
Susan Koch,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Jan. 2026
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The Detroit native also praised Rock's property, calling the home paradise as the beauty influencer lives on a lush land complete with chickens, peacocks and an assortment of roaming farm animals.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Bregman played his first nine seasons with the Houston Astros, winning World Series titles in 2017 and 2022 — although the first of those yielded a sign-stealing scandal that earned Bregman and his teammates plenty of scorn.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
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Jacob Elordi is known for stealing hearts on and off-screen.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Boise joined those cities in late October with the speed limit, which prevents riders in the busy 8th Street, Main Street and Idaho Street entertainment corridors from cruising at 15 mph.—
Shannon Tyler,
Idaho Statesman,
7 Nov. 2025
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Oceanwalker, a Chinese shipyard, typically builds a more plain-jane 60-foot catamaran for the charter market, but Revolution went through it with its designers to create a luxury-cruising version.—
Michael Verdon,
Robb Report,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mooching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mooching. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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