leak
verbEtymology
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)).
7 senses
- 1To allow fluid or gas to pass through an opening that…
- 2(of a fluid or gas) To pass through an opening that…
- 3To disclose secret information surreptitiously or anonymously.
- 4To pass through when it would normally or preferably be blocked.
- 5To allow anything through that would normally or…
- 6To urinate.
- 7To bleed.
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.
- No one realized that propane gas was leaking from a rusty tank in the concession area, slowly filling the unventilated room.
Ambitransitive To disclose secret information surreptitiously or anonymously.
- Someone must have leaked it to our competitors that the new product will be out soon.
- That's another of those irregular verbs, isn't it? I give confidential press briefings; you leak; he's being charged under section 2(A) of the Official Secrets Act.1987, “Man Overboard”, in Yes, Prime Minister, spoken by Bernard Wooley (Derek Fowlds):
Broadly, Figuratively 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.1989, Kenneth N. Luongo, W. Thomas Wander, The Search for Security in Space, page 149:
Broadly, Figuratively 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.2021 February 6, Graham Bean, “Scotland beat England at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years”, in The Scotsman:
Euphemistic, Slang, Sometimes To urinate.
- I had to leak in the woods since there were no toilets around.
- Why, you will allow vs ne're a Iourden, and then we leake in your Chimney: and your Chamber-lye breeds Fleas like a Loach.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
2 more examples
- Occasionally bums passed, Mexican mothers passed with children, and the prowl car came by and the cop got out to leak, but most of the time we were alone and mixing up our souls ever more and ever more till it would be terribly hard to say good-by.1957 September 5, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →OCLC:
- Go and find a tree. I just leak against a^([sic]) oak over there.1965, Sam Selvon, The Housing Lark, Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press, published 1990, page 125:
- Derived terms
- aleak, leakable, leakee, leaker, leak like a sieve, leak out, nonleaking, overleak, unleaking