leak

The word “leak” means a crack or hole that lets liquid or gas escape or get in when it shouldn't. In plain terms, an unwanted escape — of liquid, gas, or, figuratively, of secret information.

“Leak” is pronounced leek (/liːk/ in IPA).

Here is “leak” used in a sentence: “There's a leak under the kitchen sink.”

Depending on how it is used, “leak” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “leak” comes from Middle English. From Middle English leken, related to Old Norse leka ("to drip"), all going back to a Germanic root meaning "to leak or drain.".

“Leak” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Leak” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a crack or hole that lets liquid or gas escape or get in when it shouldn't.

A leak is the crack or hole itself, or a single instance of liquid, gas, or information escaping; leakage is the process or the total amount that escapes, often over time. An engineer might fix a leak but measure leakage. In everyday speech, leak is by far the more common word.

A leak happens when liquid or gas escapes through a crack or hole, usually gradually and often unnoticed at first. A spill is a one-off accident in which liquid escapes its container, typically by being knocked over or overflowing. A pipe leaks; a glass of wine spills.

The verb phrase is 'to spring a leak', meaning to develop a leak suddenly. The traditional past tense is sprang — 'the boat sprang a leak' — with sprung as the past participle: 'it has sprung a leak'. American English also accepts sprung as a simple past.