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leak

/liːk/
nounverb

A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Noun 4 meanings

  1. A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape.

    “a leak in a roof”

  2. The entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture.

    “The leak gained on the ship's pumps.”

  3. A divulgation, or disclosure, of information previously held secret.

    “The leaks by Chelsea Manning showed the secrets of the US military.”

  4. The person through whom such divulgation, or disclosure, occurs.

Verb 4 meanings

  1. 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.”

  2. (of a fluid or gas) To pass through an opening that should be sealed.

    “The faucet has been leaking since last month.”

  3. To disclose secret information surreptitiously or anonymously.

    “Someone must have leaked it to our competitors that the new product will be out soon.”

  4. To pass through when it would normally or preferably be blocked.

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

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”).

LEAK at a glance

LEAK has 4 letters and scores 8 points in Scrabble (L 1 + E 1 + A 1 + K 5) and 9 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #6,063 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.

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