Meaning & use
leak
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Meanings
nouncountable
A small hole or crack through which liquid or gas escapes or enters by accident.
Grammar: Takes a plural: leaks in the roof.
Patterns
- a leak in something
The plumber found a leak in the kitchen pipe.
A tiny leak in the tire left it flat overnight.
We placed a bucket under the leak in the roof.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To let a liquid or gas escape or come in through a hole, or to escape in that way.
Grammar: No object when the container leaks: the pipe leaks. With an object: the tank leaks fuel.
Patterns
- leak from something
- leak into something
The old bucket leaks from the bottom.
The tank was leaking fuel into the ground.
Rainwater leaked through the ceiling.
verbtransitive or intransitivefigurative
To give secret information to the press or public without permission.
Grammar: Often takes an object: leak the report to reporters.
Patterns
- leak something to someone
An employee leaked the plans to a newspaper.
Someone leaked details of the trial before the announcement.
News of the merger leaked on Monday.
nouncountablefigurative
A disclosure of secret information, or the person or act that makes it.
Grammar: Used for news stories: a leak to the press.
Patterns
- a leak to someone
- a leak of something
The company searched for the source of the leak.
The leak of the report embarrassed the minister.
Officials blamed a leak for the early news.
Word forms
| plural | leaks |
|---|---|
| third person singular | leaks |
| past tense | leaked |
| past participle | leaked |
| -ing form | leaking |
Common combinations
- gas leak
- The street was closed because of a gas leak.
- leak in the roof
- A leak in the roof ruined the carpet.
- leak to the press
- Someone leaked the memo to the press.
- fix a leak
- He spent the weekend trying to fix a leak.
- spring a leak
- The boat sprang a leak halfway across the lake.
- leaked documents
- The leaked documents showed hidden costs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- drip
- Drip means falling drops, usually slower and smaller than a leak.
- seep
- Seep suggests slow, gradual escape through a surface, often unnoticed, while leak can be sudden.
- disclose
- Disclose is a neutral, official word for revealing information, whereas leak implies it was done secretly and without permission.
- divulge
- Divulge describes revealing something private or secret, usually in speech, while leak often involves documents or the press.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: leak or leek?
leak vs leek
A leek is a vegetable in the onion family; it sounds just like leak, so check the spelling.
Practice
The reporter refused to name the person who ___ the report to the press.
Choose one answer.
Leaked means secretly passed on information. Dripped and drained refer to liquid, and sealed would mean closed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “leak”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.