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freeloader

/ˌfriˈloʊdər/
/ˈfriləʊdə/
IPA guide

Other forms: freeloaders

A freeloader is a person who takes things from others without paying for them or giving anything in return. If you eat all of your friend's Pop-Tarts and play his video games but then refuse to help with his math homework, you're a freeloader.

The term freeloader is an informal word for someone who takes advantage of generous people, who expects to get things from them for nothing. Your cousin who comes to stay at your house for weeks without chipping in for rent or groceries — or even thanking you — is a freeloader. The word dates from around 1940, combining free in the sense of "without cost," and load, "put a burden or load on."

Definitions of freeloader
  1. noun
    someone who takes advantage of the generosity of others
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    type of:
    borrower
    someone who receives something on the promise to return it or its equivalent
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