What is "leak"

Leak \Leak\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Leaked (l[=e]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. Leaking.] [Akin to D. lekken, G. lecken, lechen, Icel. leka, Dan. l[ae]kke, Sw. l["a]cka, AS. leccan to wet, moisten. See Leak, n.]

1. To let water or other fluid in or out through a hole, crevice, etc.; as, the cask leaks; the roof leaks; the boat leaks.

2. To enter or escape, as a fluid, through a hole, crevice, etc.; to pass gradually into, or out of, something; -- usually with in or out.

   To leak out, to be divulged gradually or clandestinely; to become public; as, the facts leaked out.

Leak \Leak\, a. Leaky. [Obs.]
--Spenser.

Leak \Leak\ (l[=e]k), n. [Akin to D. lek leaky, a leak, G. leck, Icel. lekr leaky, Dan. l[ae]k leaky, a leak, Sw. l["a]ck; cf. AS. hlec full of cracks or leaky. Cf. Leak, v.]

1. A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape; as, a leak in a roof; a leak in a boat; a leak in a gas pipe. ``One leak will sink a ship.''
   --Bunyan.

2. The entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture; as, the leak gained on the ship's pumps.

3. (Elec.) A loss of electricity through imperfect insulation; also, the point at which such loss occurs.

4. an act of urinating; -- used mostly in the phrase

   take a leak, i. e. to urinate. [vulgar]

5. The disclosure of information that is expected to be kept confidential; as, leaks by the White House staff infuriated Nixon; leaks by the Special Prosecutor were criticized as illegal.

   To spring a leak, to open or crack so as to let in water; to begin to let in water; as, the ship sprung a leak.

"to let water in or out" [Johnson], late 14c., from Middle Dutch leken "to drip, to leak," or from Old Norse leka, both of them related to Old English leccan "to moisten" (which did not survive into Middle English), all from Proto-Germanic *lek- "deficiency" (cognates: Old High German lecchen "to become dry," German lechzen "to be parched with thirst"), from PIE root *leg- "to dribble, trickle." The figurative meaning "come to be known in spite of efforts at concealment" dates from at least 1832; transitive sense first recorded 1859. Related: Leaked; leaking.

late 15c., from leak (v.) or Old Norse cognate leki. Sense of "revelation of secret information" is from 1950. Meaning "act of urination" is attested from 1934 ("Tropic of Cancer"); but the verb meaning "to piss" is from 1590s: "Why, you will allow vs ne're a Iourden, and then we leake in your Chimney." ["I Hen. IV," II.i.22]

1. (context obsolete English) leaky. n. 1 A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape. 2 The entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture. 3 A divulgation, or disclosure, of information previously held secret. 4 The person through whom such divulgation, or disclosure, occurs. 5 A loss of electricity through imperfect insulation, or the point where it occurs. 6 (context computing English) The gradual loss of a system resource caused by failure to deallocate previously reserved portions. 7 (context vulgar slang especially with the verb "take" English) An act of urination. v

2. 1 To allow fluid to escape or enter something that should be sealed. 2 To reveal secret information.

1. v. tell anonymously; "The news were leaked to the paper"

2. be leaked; "The news leaked out despite his secrecy" [syn: leak out]

3. enter or escape as through a hole or crack or fissure; "Water leaked out of the can into the backpack"; "Gas leaked into the basement"

4. have an opening that allows light or substances to enter or go out; "The container leaked gasoline"; "the roof leaks badly"

1. n. an accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape; "one of the tires developed a leak"

2. soft watery rot in fruits and vegetables caused by fungi

3. a euphemism for urination; "he had to take a leak" [syn: wetting, making water, passing water]

4. the unwanted discharge of a fluid from some container; "they tried to stop the escape of gas from the damaged pipe"; "he had to clean up the leak" [syn: escape, leakage, outflow]

5. unauthorized (especially deliberate) disclosure of confidential information [syn: news leak]

A leak is a way for fluid to escape a container.

Leak may also refer to:

• LEAK, a brand name for high-fidelity audio equipment
• Leak (film), a 2000 Dutch thriller
• The Leak (2007), a recording by hip hop artist Lil Wayne
• Internet leak, a release of confidential information on the Internet
• News leak
• Slang term for urination
• Slang term for the drug phencyclidine (PCP)
• Leak (surname), a list of people with the family name Leak or Leaks

Leak is a 2000 Dutch thriller film directed by Jean van de Velde.

A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container. Leaks are usually unintended and therefore undesired. The word leak usually refers to a gradual loss; a sudden loss is usually called a spill.

The matter leaking in or out can be gas, liquid, a highly viscous paste, or even a solid such as a powdered or granular solid or other solid particles.

Sometimes the word "leak" is used in a figurative sense. For example, in a news leak secret information becomes public.

Leak or Leaks is the surname of:

Leak:

• Bill Leak (born 1956), Australian cartoonist and painter
• Bill Leak (sportsman) (1917–2007), Australian rules footballer and cricketer
• Bruce Leak, American inventor and entrepreneur
• Chris Leak (born 1985), American former football quarterback
• Hector Leak (1887–1976), British statistician
• James Leak, 19th century English bare-knuckle prize fighter
• John Leak (1892–1972), Australian First World War recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Maysa Leak (born 1966), American jazz singer better known simply as Maysa

Leaks:

• Manny Leaks (born 1945), American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association player
• Roosevelt Leaks (born 1953), African-American college football and National Football League player, member of the College Football Hall of Fame