leak

[ leek ]

/ lik /

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See synonyms for: leak / leaking on Thesaurus.com

noun

an unintended hole, crack, or the like, through which liquid, gas, light, etc., enters or escapes: a leak in the roof.

an act or instance of leaking.

any means of unintended entrance or escape.

Electricity. the loss of current from a conductor, usually resulting from poor insulation.

a disclosure of secret, especially official, information, as to the news media, by an unnamed source.

verb (used without object)

to let a liquid, gas, light, etc., enter or escape, as through an unintended hole or crack: The boat leaks.

to pass in or out in this manner, as liquid, gas, or light: gas leaking from a pipe.

to become known unintentionally (usually followed by out): The news leaked out.

to disclose secret, especially official, information anonymously, as to the news media: The official revealed that he had leaked to the press in the hope of saving his own reputation.

verb (used with object)

to let (liquid, gas, light, etc.) enter or escape: This camera leaks light.

to allow to become known, as information given out covertly: to leak the news of the ambassador's visit.

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Idioms about leak

take a leak, Slang: Vulgar. to urinate.

Origin of leak

1375–1425; 1955–60 for def. 11; late Middle English leken<Old Norse leka to drip, leak; akin to Dutch lek,obsolete German lech leaky. See leach¹

OTHER WORDS FROM leak

leaker, nounleakless, adjectivenon·leak·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH leak

leak , leek

Words nearby leak

League of Women Voters, leaguer, league table, Leah, Leahy, leak, leakage, leakance, Leakey, leakproof, leaky

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use leak in a sentence

Filipino YouTuber Tech Buff brings us an exclusive leak of the device, which has some pixels where there are not normally pixels.
New Xiaomi smartphone has an extra screen in… uh, the camera bump?|Ron Amadeo|February 12, 2021|Ars Technica
Good filtration removes as many particles as possible, and a good fit means that there are no leaks around the sides of your mask, where air — and viruses — can leak through.
Making masks fit better can reduce coronavirus exposure by 96 percent|Tina Hesman Saey|February 12, 2021|Science News
If someone was eating cauliflower near a gas leak, people would die before anyone realized they were in danger.
This cauliflower hater likes the vegetable one way only: Pickled|Jim Webster|February 3, 2021|Washington Post
We've discussed this canceled Xbox 360 game at length over the years, with updates coming mostly in the form of increasingly detailed leaks—and this week's is easily the biggest yet.
Goldeneye 007’s lost Xbox 360 remaster has leaked—as a full-game speedrun|Sam Machkovech|February 1, 2021|Ars Technica

In the decade since, there have been no large-scale leaks about the residence.
The Inside Story of How Alexey Navalny Uncovered Putin's $1.3 Billion Palace|Madeline Roache|January 29, 2021|Time
Targeting pods can bulge out a bit, and leak out unwanted signals.
Newest U.S. Stealth Fighter ‘10 Years Behind’ Older Jets|Dave Majumdar|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The leak suggests that Mr. Obama remains blind to the principal cause of his foreign policy woes.
Before Ditching His Top Aides, Obama Should Look in the Mirror|Leslie H. Gelb|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They simply would not leak this shocking story about big lineup changes on their own accord.
Before Ditching His Top Aides, Obama Should Look in the Mirror|Leslie H. Gelb|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At its core, the tale revealed by the leak of what may be more than a million classified documents is a complicated one.
‘Citizenfour’ Is Mesmerizing (If You Don’t Mind the Omissions)|Michael Cohen|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Local mechanics pitched in to help mend the craft, but weeks into setting off the repairs wore thin and the vessel sprung a leak.
Victor Mooney’s Epic Adventure for His Dead Brother|Justin Jones|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their sin began on Holy Thursday, with so little secrecy and so bad an example, that the affair was beginning to leak out.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
Your composing-room door is locked, and the present item of news destined for your readers is not likely to leak out.
The Weight of the Crown|Fred M. White
Ash pits near a house carry moisture to walls, Cesspools leak through the soil.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
Here sit up to the chin for twenty minutes, shivering at thought of what would happen supposing bath sprang a leak.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 93, September 24, 1887|Various
The poem was simple and optimistic—it told of the beneficent qualities of rain, as it would appear to one whose roof did not leak.
Love's Pilgrimage|Upton Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for leak

leak

/ (liːk) /

noun

a crack, hole, etc, that allows the accidental escape or entrance of fluid, light, etc
such escaping or entering fluid, light, etc

spring a leak to develop a leak

something resembling this in effecta leak in the defence system

the loss of current from an electrical conductor because of faulty insulation, etc

a disclosure, often intentional, of secret information

the act or an instance of leaking

a slang word for urinationSee urination

verb

to enter or escape or allow to enter or escape through a crack, hole, etc

(when intr, often foll by out) to disclose (secret information), often intentionally, or (of secret information) to be disclosed

(intr) a slang word for urinate

Derived forms of leak

leaker, noun

Word Origin for leak

C15: from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse leka to drip

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

leak

Idioms about leak

Origin of leak

OTHER WORDS FROM leak

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH leak

Words nearby leak

Words related to leak

How to use leak in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for leak

Derived forms of leak

Word Origin for leak