leak

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. the act of giving secret information to the public or the media.

n. the intentional but unauthorized disclosure of confidential information to the public or the press.

“A leak from the government office revealed the new tax plans early.”

“The recent data leak has compromised the personal details of thousands of customers, leading to a massive investigation into the company's security protocols.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Computing Technical

n. when a computer program uses up memory and does not give it back.

n. the gradual depletion of system resources, such as memory, caused by a failure to deallocate previously reserved portions.

“The app crashes because of a memory leak that uses all the phone's RAM.”

“The software update was designed specifically to address a persistent memory leak that had been degrading server performance over long periods of uptime.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Informal · Slang · Vulgar

n. a very informal way to talk about going to the toilet.

n. an act of urination; used in informal or vulgar contexts.

“We stopped the car at a petrol station so he could take a leak.”

“After the long bus journey, several passengers were desperate to find a restroom and take a leak.”

B1 · Intermediate

v. to let liquid or gas out through a hole by accident.

v. to allow fluid or gas to pass through an opening that should be sealed; may be used transitively or intransitively.

“Water started to leak from the ceiling after the heavy rain.”

“The damaged container began to leak toxic fumes into the warehouse, forcing an immediate evacuation of all staff members.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to give secret information to someone, like a reporter.

v. to disclose confidential information surreptitiously or anonymously to an outside party.

“Someone in the company leaked the photos of the new phone before the launch.”

“An anonymous source leaked the classified documents to the newspaper, sparking a nationwide debate on government transparency.”