leak
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.
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.
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.
Idioms about leak
take a leak, Slang: Vulgar. to urinate.
Origin of leak
1Other words from leak
- leaker, noun
- leakless, adjective
- non·leak·ing, adjective
Words that may be confused with leak
- leak , leek
Words Nearby leak
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 TechnicaGood 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 NewsIf 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 PostWe'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 TechnicaIn 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 | THE DAILY BEASTThe 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 | THE DAILY BEASTThey 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 | THE DAILY BEASTAt 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 | THE DAILY BEASTLocal 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 | THE DAILY BEASTTheir sin began on Holy Thursday, with so little secrecy and so bad an example, that the affair was beginning to leak out.
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. WhiteAsh pits near a house carry moisture to walls, Cesspools leak through the soil.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine | Austin MalleyHere sit up to the chin for twenty minutes, shivering at thought of what would happen supposing bath sprang a leak.
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
/ (liːk) /
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 effect: a 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 urination: See urination
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
Origin of leak
1Derived forms of leak
- leaker, noun
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
Browse