less common spelling of leech
1
: either vertical edge of a square sail
2
: the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail
leached; leaching; leaches
1
: to dissolve out by the action of a percolating liquid
leach out alkali from ashes
2
: to subject to the action of percolating (see percolate sense 1a) liquid (such as water) in order to separate the soluble components
3
a
: to remove (nutritive or harmful elements) from soil by percolation (see percolate sense 1a)
soil leached of its salts by torrential rains
b
: to draw out or remove as if by percolation
all meaning has been leached from my life
: to pass out or through by percolation
Nutrients leached out of the soil with rainwater.
Examples of leach in a Sentence
Verb
Even a small amount of rain can leach the toxic material from the soil.
Certain kinds of treated wood can leach chemicals into the soil.
The chemical eventually leaches away from the soil.
Recent Examples on the Web
Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 5 Aug. 2023
The calcium that leaches from the bones is expelled in urine, increasing the risk of kidney stones.
—Kim Tingley, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023
The cups were placed in temperate water or sediment and left to leach for up to four weeks.
—Sabrina Weiss, WIRED, 1 Sep. 2023
Landlords are leaches that HORDE THE SUPPLY of housing.
—E. J. Antoni, National Review, 21 Oct. 2023
There are concerns, for instance, that seawater could corrode pipes and leach heavy metals into the water supply, said Holly Michael, a hydrogeologist at the University of Delaware and director of the Delaware Environmental Institute.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 29 Sep. 2023
On top of being a huge source of emissions, excess nitrogen leaches into waterways, causing algal blooms.
—Matt Reynolds, WIRED, 5 Sep. 2023
The monument, situated along the Arizona Strip, aims to protect the Grand Canyon from more uranium mining, which Native Americans said would despoil many sacred ancestral sites, leach into aquifers and threaten water supplies.
—Mark Eddington, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Aug. 2023
With the goal of raising that money to invest in startups across Ohio, leach will run the daily operations once that 500 million goal is reached.
—Laura Johnston, cleveland, 13 July 2023
Wilder Davies, Bon Appétit, 11 Apr. 2024
The exploration data collected to-date indicates that previous historical open pit heap leaching operations did not advance their plans to develop attractive, wide, shallow gold-silver mineralization hosted in major structural zones in the Bisbee Group sediments west of the Contention Pit.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
Bailey and other Nelsonville residents were profiled in a Wausau Daily Herald story in 2020 about their fears that manure from a CAFO about a mile from the small Portage County community was leaching nitrogen into their groundwater.
—Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2024
The plastic wrap has the additional benefit of trapping any moisture leaching from the fish, preventing the edges of it from drying out.
—Lucas Sin, Bon Appétit, 20 Mar. 2024
One avenue to investigate is whether chemicals from the plastics leached into the plaques, said Zhou, who studies the chemicals inside plastic products.
—Elaine Chen, STAT, 6 Mar. 2024
This heavy-duty, durable machine uses a glass cooking beaker to ensure that food always tastes fresh and that no odors or flavors will leach into your purees.
—Laura Denby, Parents, 29 Feb. 2024
Following extensive research over the last decade that found the chemicals can leach into food and may be associated with serious health problems in humans, food manufacturers gradually began to phase them out.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, 28 Feb. 2024
The latter can leach into food chains, contaminate water supplies and have negative developmental affects on children and others.
—Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024
Noun
When acidic foods are cooked in cast-iron pans, small amounts of iron leach into the food during the cooking process.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 5 Aug. 2023
The calcium that leaches from the bones is expelled in urine, increasing the risk of kidney stones.
—Kim Tingley, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023
The cups were placed in temperate water or sediment and left to leach for up to four weeks.
—Sabrina Weiss, WIRED, 1 Sep. 2023
Landlords are leaches that HORDE THE SUPPLY of housing.
—E. J. Antoni, National Review, 21 Oct. 2023
There are concerns, for instance, that seawater could corrode pipes and leach heavy metals into the water supply, said Holly Michael, a hydrogeologist at the University of Delaware and director of the Delaware Environmental Institute.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 29 Sep. 2023
On top of being a huge source of emissions, excess nitrogen leaches into waterways, causing algal blooms.
—Matt Reynolds, WIRED, 5 Sep. 2023
The monument, situated along the Arizona Strip, aims to protect the Grand Canyon from more uranium mining, which Native Americans said would despoil many sacred ancestral sites, leach into aquifers and threaten water supplies.
—Mark Eddington, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Aug. 2023
With the goal of raising that money to invest in startups across Ohio, leach will run the daily operations once that 500 million goal is reached.
—Laura Johnston, cleveland, 13 July 2023
Verb
This Vigor stockpot costs less than $100 and still features a stainless-steel exterior to avoid leaching metallic flavor into your broth.
—Wilder Davies, Bon Appétit, 11 Apr. 2024
The exploration data collected to-date indicates that previous historical open pit heap leaching operations did not advance their plans to develop attractive, wide, shallow gold-silver mineralization hosted in major structural zones in the Bisbee Group sediments west of the Contention Pit.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
Bailey and other Nelsonville residents were profiled in a Wausau Daily Herald story in 2020 about their fears that manure from a CAFO about a mile from the small Portage County community was leaching nitrogen into their groundwater.
—Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2024
The plastic wrap has the additional benefit of trapping any moisture leaching from the fish, preventing the edges of it from drying out.
—Lucas Sin, Bon Appétit, 20 Mar. 2024
One avenue to investigate is whether chemicals from the plastics leached into the plaques, said Zhou, who studies the chemicals inside plastic products.
—Elaine Chen, STAT, 6 Mar. 2024
This heavy-duty, durable machine uses a glass cooking beaker to ensure that food always tastes fresh and that no odors or flavors will leach into your purees.
—Laura Denby, Parents, 29 Feb. 2024
Following extensive research over the last decade that found the chemicals can leach into food and may be associated with serious health problems in humans, food manufacturers gradually began to phase them out.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, 28 Feb. 2024
The latter can leach into food chains, contaminate water supplies and have negative developmental affects on children and others.
—Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leach.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
leach vessel through which water is passed to extract lye
Dictionary Entries Near leach
Cite this Entry
“Leach.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leach. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
leach
verbˈlēch
: to pass a liquid through to carry off the soluble components
also
: to dissolve out by such means
leach minerals from rocks
Medical Definition
leach
transitive verb1
: to subject to the action of percolating liquid (as water) in order to separate the soluble components
2
: to dissolve out by the action of a percolating liquid
: to pass out or through by percolation
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