leaky

American  

[lee-kee] / ˈli ki /

adjective

leakier, leakiest

1. allowing liquid, gas, etc., to enter or escape.

   a leaky boat; a leaky container.

2. Informal. unreliable.

   a leaky memory; a leaky tongue.

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leaky British  

/ ˈliːkɪ /

adjective

1. leaking or tending to leak

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unleaky
  adjective
• leakiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of leaky

First recorded in 1600–10; leak + -y ¹

Explanation

Leaky things accidentally allow water (or gas) to pass through them. A leaky bucket is a bad thing, and a leaky diaper is even worse. A leaky hose lets water squirt out at different points, and a leaky helium balloon plummets to the ground, deflating as it falls. You can also talk about a leaky government, or a leaky newsroom — in other words, a group or a person guilty of exposing information that's meant to be kept secret or confidential. This kind of leak is a "deliberate disclosure of information," and it dates from the 1950s.

Example Sentences

The $1.3 billion frozen payment is a drop in the state’s leaky Medicaid budget.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

Still, the UBS analysts said, the repairs many homes need, like leaky roofs, have to be made.

From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026

The original hydrogel contained particles that were too large to effectively target damaged, leaky blood vessels.

From Science Daily • May 5, 2026

That's partly because I have a French husband and we bought a very old, leaky house in northern France some years ago, which already had a heat pump installed.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

In the dream I’m adrift on the current in a leaky boat in the dark of night and can’t find my oars and can’t see the shore and can’t do nothing to save myself.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick

Related Words

• broken
• cracked
• faulty