leakey
B2Neutral to informal. Common in everyday and technical contexts (e.g., plumbing, IT security, gossip).
Definition
Meaning
Allowing liquid, air, or information to escape through an unintended hole, gap, or flaw.
Describing something that is not watertight or secure, often implying gradual loss, unreliability, or vulnerability to unauthorized disclosure.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Often implies undesirability or fault. Can be literal (physical leaks) or figurative (information leaks, memory leaks in computing).
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minimal. Both use the same spelling and core meanings.
Connotations
Slightly more common in British English in the context of describing old buildings or roofs. In American English, frequently used in tech contexts ("leaky abstraction").
Frequency
Comparably frequent in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
be/get ~ (The roof is leaky)~ noun (a leaky tap)prove ~ (The theory proved leaky under scrutiny)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “A leaky ship fears every wave.”
- “Spring a leak.”
- “Leaky like a sieve.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to inefficient processes or loss of resources/profit ('a leaky supply chain').
Academic
Used in computing science ('leaky bucket algorithm'), psychology ('leaky attention'), and physics.
Everyday
Describes faulty household items, weatherproofing, or gossip-prone people.
Technical
In software, describes abstractions that expose underlying complexity or memory that is not properly deallocated.
Examples
By Part of Speech
adjective
British English
- We need to fix that leaky gutter before the autumn rains.
- His defence was a bit leaky in the second half.
- The old shed has a leaky roof.
American English
- The faucet has been leaky for weeks.
- That software has a leaky abstraction problem.
- Their privacy policy is leaky at best.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The bucket is leaky. Don't put water in it.
- I have a leaky pen.
- We couldn't use the tent because it was old and leaky.
- The boat was leaky, so we stayed near the shore.
- The investigation failed due to a leaky information pipeline within the department.
- The theory is leaky and doesn't account for several key variables.
- The philosopher argued that all human categorization is inherently leaky and imprecise.
- Managing a leaky pipeline of talent remains the industry's greatest challenge.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a LEAKing roof that makes the ceiling all 'KEY'-shaped wet patches. LEAK + Y.
Conceptual Metaphor
CONTAINERS ARE MINDS/SYSTEMS (a leaky memory, a leaky argument). SECURITY IS WATER-TIGHTNESS (a leaky border).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'лик' (lik) or 'липкий' (sticky). The correct conceptual link is 'протекающий' or 'негерметичный'.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing spelling with 'leeky' (relating to leeks). Using 'leaking' as an adjective (*'a leaking roof' is grammatical but less common as a pre-modifier than 'a leaky roof').
Practice
Quiz
In computing, what does a 'leaky abstraction' typically refer to?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it's commonly used for gases, information, secrets, memory (in computing), and even abstract concepts like arguments or systems.
'Leaking' is the present participle/gerund of the verb 'to leak' and describes the action. 'Leaky' is an adjective describing the property or state of something that tends to leak.
Rarely. It almost always denotes a flaw, weakness, or undesirable characteristic. A possible positive use is in specialized contexts like a controlled 'leaky integrator' in neuroscience.
They are homophones. Both are pronounced /ˈliː.ki/ and /ˈliːk/ respectively in isolation, but context clarifies meaning ('a leaky pipe' vs. 'a leek soup').