Definition of LEAK

leak

Plural: leaks

Noun

  • an accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape
    • "one of the tires developed a leak"
  • soft watery rot in fruits and vegetables caused by fungi
  • a euphemism for urination
    • "he had to take a leak"
  • the discharge of a fluid from some container
    • "he had to clean up the leak"
  • unauthorized (especially deliberate) disclosure of confidential information
  • A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape.
  • The entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture.
  • A divulgation, or disclosure, of information previously held secret.
  • The person through whom such divulgation, or disclosure, occurs.
  • A loss of electricity through imperfect insulation, or the point where it occurs.
  • The gradual loss of a system resource caused by failure to deallocate previously reserved portions.
  • An act of urination.

Verb

Verb Forms: leaked, leaking, leaks

  • To accidentally allow liquid, gas, or information to escape.
  • tell anonymously
    • "The news were leaked to the paper"
  • be leaked
    • "The news leaked out despite his secrecy"
  • enter or escape as through a hole or crack or fissure
    • "Water leaked out of the can into the backpack"
    • "Gas leaked into the basement"
  • have an opening that allows light or substances to enter or go out
    • "The container leaked gasoline"
    • "the roof leaks badly"
  • To allow fluid or gas to pass through an opening that should be sealed.
  • (of a fluid or gas) To pass through an opening that should be sealed.
  • To disclose secret information surreptitiously or anonymously.
  • To pass through when it would normally or preferably be blocked.
  • To allow anything through that would normally or preferably be blocked.
  • To urinate.
  • To bleed.

Adj

  • Leaky.

Examples

  • He shanked him, now he's leaking.
  • His secret strategy started to LEAK out after he kept using the same high-scoring words.
  • I had to leak in the woods since there were no toilets around.
  • I have to take a leak.
  • No one realized that propane gas was leaking from a rusty tank in the concession area, slowly filling the unventilated room.
  • Someone must have leaked it to our competitors that the new product will be out soon.
  • The babies' diapers had big leaks.
  • The faucet has been leaking since last month.
  • The leak gained on the ship's pumps.
  • The leaks by Chelsea Manning showed the secrets of the US military.
  • The wells are believed to have been leaking oil for decades, long after the operating company ceased to exist.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English leken (“to let water in or out”), from Old English *lecan (“to leak”), Middle Dutch leken (“to leak, drip”) or Old Norse leka (“to leak, drip”); all from Proto-Germanic *lekaną (“to leak, drain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leg-, *leǵ- (“to leak”).
Cognate with Dutch lekken (“to leak”), German lechen, lecken (“to leak”), Danish lække (“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.

Synonyms

escape, leak out, leakage, making water, news leak, outflow, passing water, wetting, break the seal, hit the head, micturate, pass water, pee, piddle, piss, slash, take a leak, take a piss, take a whiz, urinate, void, wee, wee wee, whiz, widdle

Scrabble Score: 8

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

Words With Friends Score: 9

leak: valid Words With Friends Word