parasitism
noun
- relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or in another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈpæɹəs(a)ɪˌtɪzm̩/
noun
Etymology: From parasite + -ism. Cognate with French parasitisme and Portuguese and Spanish parasitismo.
- Interaction between two organisms, in which one organism (the parasite) benefits and the other (the host) is harmed.
- A similar interaction between people or things.
“We accused her of parasitism in taking his hard-earned money for new dresses.”
“These devices' energy consumption is parasitism upon the electrical grid.”