leak
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leak¹
- /liːk/
Sounds like leek · Rhymes with -iːk
Where it comes from
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- (“to leak”).
Cognate with Dutch lekken (“to leak”), German lechen, lecken (“to leak”), Danish lække (“to leak”), Swedish läcka (“to leak”), Norwegian Bokmål lekke (“to leak”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Norwegian Nynorsk leka (“to leak”). Related also to Old English leċċan (“to water, wet”), Albanian lag, lak (“to 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)).
noun leaks
- A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape. a leak in a roof
- The entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture. The leak gained on the ship's pumps.
- A divulgation, or disclosure, of information previously held secret. The leaks by Chelsea Manning showed the secrets of the US military.
- The person through whom such divulgation, or disclosure, occurs. […] so even if he was the leak, we would never know.
- 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. resource leak
- An act of urination. I have to take a leak.
verb leaks · leaking · leaked
- To allow fluid or gas to pass through an opening that should be sealed. The wells are believed to have been leaking oil for decades, long after the operating company ceased to exist.
- (of a fluid or gas) To pass through an opening that should be sealed. The faucet has been leaking since last month.
- To disclose secret information surreptitiously or anonymously. Someone must have leaked it to our competitors that the new product will be out soon.
- To pass through when it would normally or preferably be blocked. A target that is not detected would not be intercepted and thus would leak through the single defensive layer.
- To allow anything through that would normally or preferably be blocked. 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.
-
To urinate.
I had to leak in the woods since there were no toilets around.
Similar: break the seal, hit the head, micturate, pass water, pee, piddle, piss, slash, take a leak, take a piss, take a whiz, tinkle
- To bleed. He shanked him, now he's leaking.
- To ejaculate.
adjective more leak · most leak
- Leaky. Yet is the bottle leake, and bag so torne, / That all which I put in fals out anon […].
Leak²
proper noun Leaks
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: leakage, leak out, wetting, outflow, escape, making water, passing water, seepage, leaky, fissure, drip, rift, waterproofing, infiltration, filtering, spill
Translations
Every language
noun crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape
| Español | gotera, agujero, rotura, vía |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 漏れ口 morekuchi |
| 中文 | 漏洞 lòudòng |
| हिन्दी | रिसाव risāv |
| Português | vazamento, fuga |
| Français | fuite, voie d'eau |
| Deutsch | undichte Stelle, Leck |
| Italiano | falla, perdita, infiltrazione, crepa, dispersione |
| Ελληνικά | διαρροή diarroḯ |
| Română | spărtură |
| Русский | течь tečʹ, проте́чка protéčka, пробо́ина probóina, уте́чка utéčka, отто́к ottók |
| עברית | נְזִילָה nezilá |
noun entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture
| Español | pérdida, liqueo, leak, fuga |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 누설 nuseol, 리크 rikeu |
| 日本語 | 漏れ more, リーク rīku |
| 中文 | 洩漏 /泄漏 xièlòu |
| हिन्दी | रिसाव risāv |
| Português | vazamento |
| Français | fuite |
| Deutsch | Leck |
| Italiano | fessura, falla, fuga, crepa |
| Ελληνικά | διαρροή diarroḯ |
| Русский | течь tečʹ, проте́чка protéčka, уте́чка utéčka |
| العربية | تَسَرُّب tasarrub |
noun divulgation, or disclosure, of information
| Español | filtración, propalación |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 리크 rikeu |
| 日本語 | リーク rīku |
| 中文 | 透露 tòulù, 洩漏 /泄漏 xièlòu, 洩 /泄 xiè |
| Português | vazamento, fuga de informação |
| Français | fuite |
| Deutsch | Leck |
| Italiano | fuga, trapelare |
| Ελληνικά | διαρροή diarroḯ |
| Русский | уте́чка utéčka, слив sliv |
| العربية | تَسْرِيب tasrīb |
| עברית | דְּלִיפָה dlifá, הדלפה hadlafá |
noun the person through whom such divulgation, or disclosure, occurred
| Português | vazador |
|---|---|
| Français | taupe |
| Italiano | talpa |
verb (of a container) to allow fluid to escape or enter
| Español | gotear, perder, chorrear, filtrar, liquear, escapar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 새다 saeda |
| 日本語 | 漏れる moreru |
| 中文 | 洩漏 /泄漏 xièlòu, 漏 lòu |
| हिन्दी | रिसना risnā |
| Português | vazar |
| Français | fuir |
| Deutsch | lecken, tropfen |
| Italiano | perdere, percolare |
| Ελληνικά | διαρρέω diarréo |
| Русский | течь tečʹ, протека́ть protekátʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | làm rò rỉ |
| العربية | تَسَرَّبَ tasarraba |
verb (of a fluid or gas) to pass through an opening that should be sealed
| Español | percolar, filtrar, filtrarse, fugarse, salirse, tener goteras |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | रिसाव risāv |
| Português | vazar |
| Italiano | trapelare |
verb to reveal secret information
| Español | filtrar, propalar, pregonar, parlar, delatar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 漏らす morasu, リークする rīku suru, ばれる bareru |
| 中文 | 漏 lòu |
| Português | vazar |
| Deutsch | durchsickern, durchstechen, leaken |
| Italiano | far trapelare, trapelare, filtrare |
| Ελληνικά | διαρρέω diarréo |
| Tiếng Việt | tiết lộ |
| العربية | سَرَّبَ sarraba |
| עברית | טפטף tiftéf |
Talk about this word "leak." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/leak. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. leak. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/leak "leak." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/leak.Cite this
@misc{leak_2026,
title = {leak},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/leak},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
