leaky

adjective \ ˈlē-kē \

|Updated on: 20 Aug 2018

Definition of leaky

leakier; leakiest

: permitting fluid to leak in or out

—

leakily

play \ˈlē-kə-lē\ adverb

—

leakiness

play \ˈlē-kē-nəs\ noun

See leaky defined for English-language learners

See leaky defined for kids

Recent Examples of leaky from the Web

Eating fried, sugary, and processed foods all the time can lead to a condition called leaky gut, whereby toxic compounds and bacteria could get into the bloodstream and cause inflammation throughout your body, including your skin, Dr. Bowe explains.

— katheryn erickson, Glamour, "Why You're Probably Overwashing Your Face," 2 May 2018
Workers will scale the scaffolding of the 210-foot-building to review and make necessary repairs to the monument's leaky roof.

— ethan may, Indianapolis Star, "Why there's scaffolding around much of the Indiana War Memorial," 13 July 2018
In young people, the brain remains largely isolated from that inflammation, but with older people, our blood-brain barrier becomes kind of leaky.

— judith graham, Washington Post, "Surgery can cause cognitive losses in some seniors," 19 May 2018
The other important player in the Tampa Bay equation was goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who was leaky in surrendering 10 goals over the first two games.

— kevin allen, USA TODAY, "Steven Stamkos' words, deeds get Lightning back into series against Capitals," 15 May 2018
The kidney filters then become leaky, allowing larger essential proteins such as albumin to escape from the blood and pass into the urine.

— stephen s. hall, Science | AAAS, "What's your risk of kidney disease, heart attack, or diabetes? A single molecule can tell," 19 Apr. 2018
Videos from the news site show staffers working to mop up the rain from the leaky hospital roof, which soaked X-ray rooms and hallways.

— alex harris, miamiherald, "Beryl flooded hundreds of homes, left 130,000 without power in the Dominican Republic," 10 July 2018
The club’s leaky defense continued to be an Achilles heel.

— jordan culver, Pro Soccer USA, "Orlando City sees reasons roller-coaster season can be fixed," 7 July 2018
A year ago, a leaky defense was Johns Hopkins’ biggest problem.

— edward lee, baltimoresun.com, "Review & preview: Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse," 11 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'leaky.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of leaky

15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

LEAKY Defined for English Language Learners

leaky

adjective

Definition of leaky for English Language Learners

: having a hole that allows something (such as a liquid or gas) to pass in or out : having a leak

LEAKY Defined for Kids

leaky

adjective \ ˈlē-kē \

Definition of leaky for Students

leakier; leakiest

: letting fluid in or out through a crack or hole

a leaky roof

Medical Dictionary

leaky

adjective \ ˈlē-kē \

medical Definition of leaky

: 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