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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Rollins stormed off the set, leaving Brandt and the rest of his co-hosts stunned, with the latter begging the former to return and finish his segment.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
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The seafarer who spoke to ABC News described a grim scene currently of ships drifting with little direction, and listening on the ship-to-ship communication systems called the VHF line -- accounts of crews growing desperate for basic provisions, and some begging to go home.—
Desiree Adib,
ABC News,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After the Combine, there was talk about going high in the second round or sneaking into the bottom of the first.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
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And a thick hedgerow is no deterrent to foxes sneaking in to snatch small lambs.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The visual of a 450-pound llama in a pirate hat wandering past a Starbucks kiosk is, apparently, just a normal Tuesday at PDX.—
Hanna Wickes,
Sacbee.com,
23 Apr. 2026
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The film follows Airi (Hoshi), a wandering medium who spends her life guiding restless spirits out of the world of the living.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
22 Apr. 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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The Audacity creator Jonathan Glatzer and star Billy Magnussen, who plays wealthy tech CEO Duncan Park, took the stage at Deadline Contenders TV to talk about taking the tech monster lurking in the shadows and those responsible for its existence, and turning it into a comedy.—
Amanda Champagne-Meadows,
Deadline,
26 Apr. 2026
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With savings up to 86 percent on complete sets and lots of cooling options for warm nights, there are some major bedding deals lurking on the site.—
Tanya Sharma,
PEOPLE,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Celebrate by roaming the stacks after dark at this festival.—
Deputy Managing Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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Fish and wildlife officials advise people to remove bird feeders until the turkeys leave the area and install sprinklers if the wild fowl keep roaming into yards.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Officials say the ring targeted vulnerable residents by forging documents, stealing personal information about the real owners and arranging the sales of the properties.—
Amethyst Martinez,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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There's a long way to go before the season gets here and stealing the spotlight on Thursday night during the draft doesn’t guarantee anything.—
Sean Joseph OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Then the four front propellers tilted forward, and the aircraft accelerated, no longer hanging on its rotors like a helicopter but cruising on its wings like a small airplane.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
25 Apr. 2026
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The fifth-inning dinger got the Bombers on the board, as Boston southpaw Payton Tolle had been cruising up to that point.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mooching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mooching. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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