What does "leach" mean?
A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali.
Leach
/liːt͡ʃ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali.
- Grammar: leach is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: percolate, abate, abrade, abstract.
- Useful contrasts: fertilizes, immobilize, nourishes.
- Usage evidence: Washington Aqueduct says much can happen as water travels to the consumer. Jacobus says old pipes and fixtures can leach metals. He says water treatment facilities were never designed to remove chemicals that are now showing up.
How to use "leach"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "leach" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "leach" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "leach" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "leach" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "leach" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "percolate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "leach", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali.
- 2 the process of leaching wordnet
- 3 A tub or vat for leaching ashes, bark, etc.
""This is the leach," said Kitty, pointing to a large, yellowish, upright wooden cylinder, which rested on some slanting boards, down the surface of which ran a brownish liquid that dripped into a trough."
- 4 Alternative spelling of leech. alt-of, alternative
- 5 A jelly-like sweetmeat popular in the fifteenth century.
Verb
- 1 To purge a soluble matter out of something by the action of a percolating fluid. transitive
"Heavy rainfall can leach out minerals important for plant growth from the soil."
- 2 remove substances from by a percolating liquid wordnet
- 3 To part with soluble constituents by percolation. intransitive
"The gangue was leached to recover minerals left behind by the original technology."
- 4 permeate or penetrate gradually wordnet
- 5 To bleed; to seep. figuratively, intransitive
"A more generic geography, one where the suburb uneasily abuts the commercial and industrial, or leaches out to a nonurban frontier."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 cause (a liquid) to leach or percolate wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Old English. countable, uncountable
- 2 A census-designated place in Delaware County, Oklahoma, United States. countable, uncountable
- 3 An unincorporated community in Carroll County, Tennessee, United States. countable, uncountable
- 4 A river in Gloucestershire, with a short stretch in Oxfordshire, England, which joins the Thames at Lechlade; in full, the River Leach. countable, uncountable
Antonyms
Example
"Washington Aqueduct says much can happen as water travels to the consumer. Jacobus says old pipes and fixtures can leach metals. He says water treatment facilities were never designed to remove chemicals that are now showing up."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "leach"?
Common synonyms include: percolate, abate, abrade, abstract, bate, bathe.
How do you use "leach" in a sentence?
Washington Aqueduct says much can happen as water travels to the consumer. Jacobus says old pipes and fixtures can leach metals. He says water treatment facilities were never designed to remove chemicals that are now showing up.
How do you pronounce "leach"?
Pronounced /liːt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
From Middle English *lechen, *lecchen, from Old English leċċan, from Proto-Germanic *lakjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to leak”).
Etymology 3
Two main origins: * Occupational surname for a physician, from Old English lǣċe (“doctor, physician”). * Topographic surname for someone who lived by a boggy stream, from Old English læcc (“boggy stream”) (related to Proto-Germanic *lekaną), or from several English placenames related to this (compare Leake).