leakier; leakiest
: permitting fluid to leak in or out
Examples of leaky in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In many late-night gaming sessions in the depths of winter in a leaky old Boston brownstone, the Dell doubled as a space heater.
—
Clifford Atiyeh, Robb Report, 13 Nov. 2023
The legal agreement with the Potomac Riverkeeper Network attempts to resolve a problem that has been going on for decades as coal tar, creosote and other pollutants seeped into the river from a leaky storm water sewer at the former site of a coal-to-gas plant owned by the city in Old Town.
—Teo Armus, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023
For starters, the lack of a well means that drippier items, like melons, tomatoes, or a whole roasted chicken, will leave a leaky residue on countertops.
—Kat Thompson, Bon Appétit, 31 Oct. 2023
Days after his accession in September 2022, King Charles went viral online after a video hit of him struggling with a leaky pen during a signing ceremony at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 19 Oct. 2023
Although leaky gut is not recognized as a legitimate medical diagnosis, the various symptoms may prompt people to seek out treatment.
—Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 23 Oct. 2023
In Brief —Board members at public companies may be only too aware that the CEO pipeline at many large companies is leaky.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2023
Words are already leaky containers, spilling out context whenever they’re jostled.
—Jayson Greene, Pitchfork, 17 Oct. 2023
Generating cautious optimism back in July, Threads has seemingly already gone the way of Google+ and Ello, a leaky lifeboat paddling in circles.
—Hazlitt, 11 Oct. 2023
See More
Clifford Atiyeh, Robb Report, 13 Nov. 2023
The legal agreement with the Potomac Riverkeeper Network attempts to resolve a problem that has been going on for decades as coal tar, creosote and other pollutants seeped into the river from a leaky storm water sewer at the former site of a coal-to-gas plant owned by the city in Old Town.
—Teo Armus, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023
For starters, the lack of a well means that drippier items, like melons, tomatoes, or a whole roasted chicken, will leave a leaky residue on countertops.
—Kat Thompson, Bon Appétit, 31 Oct. 2023
Days after his accession in September 2022, King Charles went viral online after a video hit of him struggling with a leaky pen during a signing ceremony at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 19 Oct. 2023
Although leaky gut is not recognized as a legitimate medical diagnosis, the various symptoms may prompt people to seek out treatment.
—Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 23 Oct. 2023
In Brief —Board members at public companies may be only too aware that the CEO pipeline at many large companies is leaky.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2023
Words are already leaky containers, spilling out context whenever they’re jostled.
—Jayson Greene, Pitchfork, 17 Oct. 2023
Generating cautious optimism back in July, Threads has seemingly already gone the way of Google+ and Ello, a leaky lifeboat paddling in circles.
—Hazlitt, 11 Oct. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leaky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of leaky was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near leaky
Cite this Entry
“Leaky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leaky. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
leaky
adjective
leakier; leakiest
: permitting fluid to leak in or out
a leaky boat
leakiness
noun
Medical Definition
leaky
adjective
: relating to or being a mutant gene that changes the structure of the protein and especially an enzyme that it determines so that some but not all of its biological activity is lost
also
: being such a protein with subnormal activity
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for leaky
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