leak

verb

ˈlēk 

leaked; leaking; leaks

intransitive verb

1

a

: to enter or escape through an opening usually by a fault or mistake

fumes leak in

b

: to let a substance or light in or out through an opening

The roof was leaking.

2

a

: to become known despite efforts at concealment

confidential information leaked out

b

: to be the source of an information leak

transitive verb

1

: to permit to enter or escape through or as if through a leak

The roof leaks water.

2

: to give out (information) surreptitiously

leaked the story to the press

leaker

ˈlē-kər 

noun

Synonyms of leak

• spread
• circulate
• get out
• come out
• get around

Examples of leak in a Sentence

The boat was leaking water.

The cracked pipe leaked fumes into the room.

Fumes leaked through the crack in the pipe.

Air leaked out of the tire.

Water was leaking through a hole in the roof.

Someone leaked the story to the press.

Recent Examples on the Web

By Sebastian Smee The meanings of words such as honor, sacrifice, and humility have been leaking away from American civic life like red blood cells from an anemic. —Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026

Before the film became widely available for download, an account that appeared to belong to someone in Singapore that ultimately leaked the entire movie tried to ignite a bidding war. —Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2026

Ducts can leak or crack, causing cool air to escape. —Kat Tretina, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026

Reiter suspected — and still believes — that Epstein had a mole in the police department or the state attorney’s office who was leaking aspects of the case to him and his lawyers. —Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English leken, liken "to lose liquid," probably going back to Old English *lekan, going back to Germanic *lekan- (whence also Middle Dutch leken "to leak," Old High German zilechan "leaky, cracked," Old Icelandic leka "to leak, drip"), going back to dialectal Indo-European *leg-e-, whence also Middle Irish legaid (intransitive) "(it) melts, dissolves," (transitive) "(s/he) melts, wipes out, destroys," Middle Welsh dileaf "(I) erase, obliterate" (verbal noun dilein) (< *dī-leg-)

Note: There is no evidence for the English verb before the end of the fourteenth century, and hence a loan origin has been sought. Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, avers that it may be an inherited word or it may have been borrowed from Old Norse. Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology believes that both verb and noun leak as well as the Early Modern English adjective leak "leaky" are borrowed from Low German or Dutch; the editors' added claim that Germanic *lek- is a variant of *lak-, the etymon of lack entry 1 and lack entry 2, is not supportable.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing leak

• anti-leak
• have a leak
• slow leak
• spring a leak
• take a leak

Rhymes for leak

• beak
• beek
• bleak
• cheek
• chic
• clique
• creak
• creek
• eke
• freak
• geek
• greek

Kids Definition

leak

1 of 2 verb

ˈlēk 

1

: to enter or escape or permit to enter or escape accidentally or by mistake

fumes leaked in

the secret leaked out

2

: to give out information secretly

leaked the story to the press

leak

2 of 2 noun

1

: something and especially a crack or hole that lets something in or out usually accidentally

2

: leakage