leak

LEEK/liːk/

15 meanings of leak

1
nouncountable
A small hole or crack that lets water or gas escape or get in.
Like a tiny hole in a balloon that lets the air slowly out.
We found a leak in the pipe under the sink.
The boat had a leak near the bottom.
Similarhole, crack, puncture, opening
Note
2
nouncountable
The flow of water or gas in or out through a hole or crack.
Like air slowly hissing out of a balloon.
A gas leak filled the kitchen with a strange smell.
The slow leak let the air out of the tire overnight.
Similarseepage, escape, discharge, outflow
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3
verbintransitive
To flow out slowly through a hole or crack that should be closed.
Like water slipping out through a tiny hole in a cup.
Water began to leak from the cracked pipe.
Gas was leaking from the old valve.
Similarseep, escape, ooze, drip, trickle
4
verbtransitive
To let water or gas pass out through a hole that should be closed.
Like a cracked cup that lets water drip out the side.
Old pipes often leak water into the basement.
The cracked tank leaked fuel across the road.
Similarrelease, discharge, emit, spill
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5
nouncountable
A secret being shared with people who were not supposed to know it.
Like a secret slipping out through a crack and reaching people it shouldn't.
The leak revealed the company's secret plans to the press.
News of the leak spread quickly online.
Similardisclosure, revelation
6
verbtransitive or intransitive
To secretly give out private information that was supposed to be kept hidden.
Like quietly passing a secret note so it reaches the wrong hands.
Someone decided to leak the report to a newspaper.
An employee leaked the photos before the launch.
Similardisclose, reveal, divulge, release, expose
Oppositeconceal, suppress, withhold
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7
nouncountable
A slow loss of electricity through a covering that does not block it well.
Like water seeping out through a pipe wall that isn't sealed well.
A small leak in the wiring drained the battery.
Engineers found a leak where the cable's cover had worn through.
8
nouncountable
A slow loss of computer memory because a program does not give back what it used.
Like borrowing a little money each day and never paying it back, until none is left.
A memory leak made the app slower the longer it ran.
The programmer fixed the leak that was using up all the memory.
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9
nouncountable
A person who secretly shares private information with people who should not get it.
Like the one person in a group who can't keep a secret.
The reporter promised to protect the leak who gave her the files.
Investigators were sure the leak worked inside the department.
Similarmole, source, informant, whistleblower
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10
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To get through something that should have stopped it.
Light tends to leak through the gaps around the door.
Some noise still leaks into the studio from the street.
Similarslip, filter, trickle, seep
Note

Practice

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Origin

From an old English and Germanic word meaning "to leak or drip." It goes back to an even older root meaning "to leak."