Leak definition
Rusted pipes that were beginning to leak; a boat leaking at the seams.
The news has leaked.
An example of to leak is juice coming out of a crack in a plastic jug.
An example of to leak is private information being released to the media.
Helium leaking slowly from the balloon.
A damaged reactor leaking radioactivity into the atmosphere.
Leaked classified information to a reporter.
Fixed the leak in the roof.
Equipment used in cleaning up oil leaks.
The kettle leaks; the boat leaks.
The truth leaked out.
The leaks by Chelsea Manning showed the secrets of the US military.
The press must have learned about the plan through a leak.
Resource leak.
Memory leak.
The faucet has been leaking since last month.
Someone must have leaked it to our competitors that the new product will be out soon.
- To urinate.
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of leak
- Middle English leken probably from Middle Dutch lēken
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English leken (“to let water in or out"), from Middle Dutch leken (“to leak, drip") or Old Norse leka (“to leak, drip"); both from Proto-Germanic *lekanÄ… (“to leak, drain"), from Proto-Indo-European *leg-, *leǵ- (“to leak"). Cognate with Dutch lekken (“to leak"), German lechen, lecken (“to leak"), Swedish läcka (“to leak"), Icelandic leka (“to leak"). Related also to Old English leċċan (“to water, wet"), Albanian lag, lak (“I damp, make wet"). See also leach, lake.
From Wiktionary