A leak is an opening or crack that allows fluid to escape from a container. You might have a leaky faucet at home.
When talking about a leak, people usually mention the problem of something getting out, like water from a pipe or air from a tire. Imagine you're trying to fix a dripping faucet and you find it's because there's a tiny hole somewhere in the pipes. That's a leak! You might also hear someone say they've got a leak in their wallet – that means money is being spent quickly and maybe even unexpectedly.
How common is "leak"?
Word leak is considered uncommon in modern English. It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.
Definitions
noun
A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape.
Example: a leak in a boat
The entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture.
Example: The babies' diapers had big leaks.
A divulgation, or disclosure, of information previously held secret.
Example: The leaks by Chelsea Manning showed the secrets of the US military.
The person through whom such divulgation, or disclosure, occurs.
Example: The press must have learned about the plan through a leak.
A loss of electricity through imperfect insulation, or the point where it occurs.
The gradual loss of a system resource caused by failure to deallocate previously reserved portions.
Example: memory leak
(especially with the verb "take") An act of urination.
Example: I have to take a leak.
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verb
To allow fluid or gas to pass through an opening that should be sealed.
Example: The faucet has been leaking since last month.
(of a fluid or gas) To pass through an opening that should be sealed.
Example: No one realized that propane gas was leaking from a rusty tank in the concession area, slowly filling the unventilated room.
To disclose secret information surreptitiously or anonymously.
Example: Someone must have leaked it to our competitors that the new product will be out soon.
