Word
leaky
US/ˈɫiki/
UK/lˈiːki/
Definition
adj. having a hole or crack that lets liquid or gas escape when it should stay inside. You use this to describe things like pipes, roofs, or even pens that make a mess.
adj. permitting the accidental or unintended escape of a fluid, gas, or data through a hole or structural weakness. Often used figuratively in computing or finance to describe systems that lose information or capital.
Examples
“The kitchen has a leaky faucet that drips all night.”
“We had to place a bucket under the leaky ceiling during the heavy rainstorm to protect the wooden floor.”
“The investigation revealed that the company's leaky internal servers had been exposing sensitive customer data for months before the security breach was finally detected and patched.”
Examples
simple
“The kitchen has a leaky faucet that drips all night.”
contextual
“We had to place a bucket under the leaky ceiling during the heavy rainstorm to protect the wooden floor.”
complex
“The investigation revealed that the company's leaky internal servers had been exposing sensitive customer data for months before the security breach was finally detected and patched.”
Usage
Typically used as an attributive adjective before a noun or predicatively after a linking verb like 'is' or 'became'.
Etymology
Likely a normalisation ( + -y) of earlier leak, leake, leke (“leaky”, adjective), from Middle English leke (“leaky”), from Old English hlec, lec (“having cracks or rents; leaky”), from Proto-Germanic lekaz (“leaking; leaky”). By surface analysis, leak + -y. Cognate with Scots lek, leck (“leaky”), Saterland Frisian läk (“leaky”), Dutch lek (“leaky”), German Low German leck (“leaky”), German leck (“leaky”), Swedish läck (“leaky”), Icelandic lekur (“leaky”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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