leach

Plural: leaches

Noun

the process of leaching
A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali.
A tub or vat for leaching ashes, bark, etc.
Alternative spelling of leech.
A jelly-like sweetmeat popular in the fifteenth century.

Verb

Verb Forms: leached, leaching, leaches

To dissolve and wash away by a percolating liquid.
cause (a liquid) to leach or percolate
permeate or penetrate gradually
- "the fertilizer leached into the ground"
remove substances from by a percolating liquid
- "leach the soil"
To purge a soluble matter out of something by the action of a percolating fluid.
To part with soluble constituents by percolation.
To bleed; to seep.

Examples

Heavy rainfall can leach out minerals important for plant growth from the soil.
His chances of winning began to LEACH away as his opponent scored big.
The gangue was leached to recover minerals left behind by the original technology.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English leche (“leachate; sluggish stream”), from Old English *lǣċ, *lǣċe (“muddy stream”), from Proto-Germanic *lēkijō (“a leak, drain, flow”)
(compare Proto-Germanic *lekaną (“to leak, drain”)), from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to leak”).
Cognate with Old English leċċan (“to water, moisten”), Old English lacu (“stream, pool, pond”). More at leak, lake.

Synonyms

leaching, percolate, strip

Scrabble Score: 10

leach: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
leach: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
leach: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

leach: valid Words With Friends Word