leak

leak [lēk]

vi.

[ME leken < ON leka, to drip < IE base * leg-, to drip, trickle, LACK, OIr legaim, (I) dissolve, Welsh llaith, damp]

1. to let a fluid substance out or in accidentally [the boats leaks]

2. to enter, or escape accidentally from, an object or container: often with in or out

3. to become known little by little, by accident, carelessness, or treachery [the truth leaked out]

vt.

1. to permit (water, air, light, radiation, etc.) to pass accidentally in or out; allow to leak

2. to allow (secret or confidential information) to become known

n.

1. an accidental hole or crack that lets something out or in

2. any means of escape for something that ought not to be let out, lost, etc.

3. the fact of leaking; leakage

4. a disclosure of secret or confidential information; specif., an ostensibly accidental disclosure by a government official to the news media, actually intended to produce an effect: in full news leak

5.

a) a loss of electrical current through faulty insulation

b) the point or path where this occurs

6. Slang the act of urinating: usually in the phrase take a leak