noun

leak

leek

noun

A crack or hole that lets liquid or gas escape or get in when it shouldn't.

"There's a leak under the kitchen sink."

"A slow leak in the tire left the car stranded."

The unauthorized release of secret or private information.

"The leak revealed confidential details about the merger."

verb

To let liquid or gas escape through an opening, or to escape that way.

"The pipe started to leak after the frost."

"Water leaked through a crack in the ceiling."

To reveal secret information to the public, usually without permission.

"Someone inside the company leaked the sales figures to the press."

How to Use Leak

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishAn unwanted escape — of liquid, gas, or, figuratively, of secret information.

Common pairings

spring a leak gas leak leak information data leak

more leak comparative, leaked past tense, leaks plural, Leaks plural, leaks singular, most leak superlative

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There's a _____ under the kitchen sink.

From Middle English leken, related to Old Norse leka ("to drip"), all going back to a Germanic root meaning "to leak or drain."

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