leak

[ leek ]

/ lik /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR leak 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.

Idioms for 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

leak·er, noun leak·less, adjective non·leak·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH leak

leak leek

Words nearby leak

league of women voters, league table, leaguer, leah, leahy, leak, leakage, leakance, leakey, leakproof, leaky

Example sentences from the Web for leak

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
The cold air drawn through the fire-box is hard on the sheets and flues and will cause them to leak.

The Traveling Engineers' Association |Anonymous
She had sprung a leak, the water seemed to be gaining, and after a short rest I took my turn at the pumps with the crew.

Chatterbox, 1905. |Various
I'll let it leak out that I'm only sending Zanzibar for a workout and to see whether he's improved any over last season.

Old Man Curry |Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
Far better for him, poor lad, if he had taken my tip and left those tap-bolts to leak.

An Ocean Tramp |William McFee
At this time the Resolution sprung a leak, which, at first, alarmed us not a little.

A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16 |Robert Kerr

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 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

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

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

leak

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Idioms for leak

Origin of leak

OTHER WORDS FROM leak

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH leak

Words nearby leak

Example sentences from the Web for leak

British Dictionary definitions for leak

noun

verb

Derived forms of leak

Word Origin for leak

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

leak

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Idioms for leak

Origin of leak

OTHER WORDS FROM leak

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH leak

Words nearby leak

Words related to leak

Example sentences from the Web for leak

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for leak

noun

verb

Derived forms of leak

Word Origin for leak

British Dictionary definitions for leak