- leak
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 small hole/crackVERB + LEAK▪ have▪
The boat had a small leak.
▪ develop, spring▪The pipe has sprung a leak.
▪ plug, stop▪I managed to plug the leak.
PREPOSITION▪ leak in▪a leak in the roof
2 when gas/liquid escapesADJECTIVE▪ major, serious▪ minor, small▪ slow▪ air, fuel, gas, oil, radiation, water▪ plumbing (AmE)VERB + LEAK▪ cause▪The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday.
▪ detect, discover, find, locate, notice▪Fortunately, we discovered the leak in time.
▪ fix, repair, stop▪The plumber fixed the leak.
▪ prevent▪steps that can be taken to prevent gas leaks in the future
LEAK + VERB▪ happen, occur▪ come from sth▪If you have no idea where the gas leak is coming from, it is always best to turn the complete system off.
PREPOSITION▪ leak from▪Pollution inspectors were called to a leak from a chemical factory.
▪ leak of▪a leak of dangerous chemicals
3 giving away informationADJECTIVE▪ security▪ serious▪serious leaks of US intelligence
▪ alleged▪an alleged leak of a CIA employee's name to the media
LEAK + VERB▪ come from sth▪The leak could only have come from one source.
PREPOSITION▪ leak about▪a security leak about a number of suspicious deaths among civil servants
▪ leak from▪a leak from the prime minister's office
▪ leak of▪a leak of confidential material
▪ leak to▪a leak to the American authorities
PHRASES▪ the source of a leak▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}The organization's press secretary is thought to be the source of the leak.
verb1 allow sth to get out through a holeADVERB▪ badly▪The house was old and the roof leaked badly.
▪ slightly2 tell sb about sthADVERB▪ carefully, deliberately▪ widely▪The document had been widely leaked.
▪ allegedly▪ illegallyPREPOSITION▪ from▪confidential information that has been leaked from the BBC
▪ to▪The report was leaked to the press.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
