parasites

Meaning of parasites

plural noun
  1. an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other's expense.
    the parasite attaches itself to the mouths of fishes
    an intestinal parasite of cattle
  2. a person who habitually relies on or exploits others and gives nothing in return.
    he was a parasite who lived off other people

mid 16th century: via Latin from Greek parasitos ‘(person) eating at another's table’, from para- ‘alongside’ + sitos ‘food’.

Information about parasites

Hyphenation of parasites

par-a-sites

  • It consists of 3 syllables and 9 chars.
  • parasites is a word trisyllabic because it has three syllables

parasites synonyms

Meaning a person who extorts profit from or sponges on others:

leech

Meaning a member of a team or group who does far less effective work than the other members:

passenger

Meaning a person who does no useful work and lives off others:

drone

Meaning an insect or other animal that sucks blood, especially a leech or a mosquito:

bloodsucker

Meaning a person who lives at others' expense:

sponger

Meaning a primitive sedentary aquatic invertebrate with a soft porous body that is typically supported by a framework of fibres or calcareous or glassy spicules. Sponges draw in a current of water to extract :

sponge

Meaning a person who borrows from or lives off others:

scrounger

Meaning a person who takes advantage of others' generosity without giving anything in return:

freeloader

Meaning a person who lives off others without giving anything in return:

moocher

Meaning an instance of loitering in a bored or listless manner:

mooch

Meaning a scrounger:

bludger

Anagrams of parasites

aspirates, paterissa, satrapies

Words that rhyme with parasites

Belaites, Cordaites, Dehaites, Karaites, Rebeccaites, Saites, Spelaites, cordaites, retraites, thwaites, tinguaites, twaites, uintaites, waites, Babites, Jacobites, Moabites, Wahabites, Wahhabites, albites, ayenbites, backbites, bites, calebites, cenobites, chalybites, columbites, coquimbites, crossbites, epistilbites, fleabites, frostbites, lovebites, niobites, overbites, plumbites, rebites, snakebites, sorbites, soundbites, stilbites, trilobites, underbites, Apharsathacites, Filicites, Lucites, Malecites, accites, analcites, anthracites

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