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Leak

//liːk// adj, name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
Leaky. obsolete
"Yet is the bottle leake, and bag so torne, / That all which I put in fals out anon […]."

Proper Noun

1
A surname.

Noun

1
A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape.
"a leak in a roof"
2
unauthorized (especially deliberate) disclosure of confidential information wordnet
3
The entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture.
"The leak gained on the ship's pumps."
4
the discharge of a fluid from some container wordnet
5
A divulgation, or disclosure, of information previously held secret.
"The leaks by Chelsea Manning showed the secrets of the US military."

Show 7 more definitions

6
an accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape wordnet
7
The person through whom such divulgation, or disclosure, occurs.
"[…] so even if he was the leak, we would never know."
8
a euphemism for urination wordnet
9
A loss of electricity through imperfect insulation, or the point where it occurs.
10
soft watery rot in fruits and vegetables caused by fungi wordnet
11
The gradual loss of a system resource caused by failure to deallocate previously reserved portions.
"resource leak"
12
An act of urination. especially, mildly, slang, vulgar
"I have to take a leak."

Verb

1
To allow fluid or gas to pass through an opening that should be sealed. transitive
"The wells are believed to have been leaking oil for decades, long after the operating company ceased to exist."
2
have an opening that allows light or substances to enter or go out wordnet
3
(of a fluid or gas) To pass through an opening that should be sealed. intransitive
"The faucet has been leaking since last month."
4
enter or escape as through a hole or crack or fissure wordnet
5
To disclose secret information surreptitiously or anonymously. ambitransitive
"Someone must have leaked it to our competitors that the new product will be out soon."

Show 6 more definitions

6
be leaked wordnet
7
To pass through when it would normally or preferably be blocked. broadly, figuratively, intransitive
"A target that is not detected would not be intercepted and thus would leak through the single defensive layer."
8
tell anonymously wordnet
9
To allow anything through that would normally or preferably be blocked. broadly, figuratively, transitive
"England were leaking penalties as Scotland played with pace and variety. Russell was starting to find his range and when he threaded through a grubber to Sean Maitland the winger did well to gather and keep the ball in play. Unfortunately, his pass inside just eluded Russell."
10
To urinate. euphemistic, slang, sometimes
"I had to leak in the woods since there were no toilets around."
11
To bleed. US, slang
"He shanked him, now he's leaking."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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. (divulgation, disclosure of information): Compare typologically Bulgarian изтичане (iztičane), Polish przeciek, Russian уте́чка (utéčka) (akin to течь impf or f (tečʹ)).

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

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