leaky
/'li:ki/
Definition
- Adjective:
- Having holes or cracks that allow liquid or gas to escape or enter: Describes an object or structure that is not watertight or airtight, permitting unwanted passage of fluids or gases.
- Prone to unintentionally revealing secrets or confidential information: Used informally to describe a person who cannot keep secrets.
- Unable to retain urine: Used informally to describe a condition of urinary incontinence.
Usage Examples
- Describing objects:
- We need to fix that leaky faucet; it's wasting water.
- The boat was too leaky to be safe for the voyage.
- Describing systems or defenses:
- The team's leaky defense allowed three goals in the first half.
- The software had a leaky abstraction, causing performance issues.
- Describing people (informal):
- Don't tell him the news; he's known to be leaky.
- Describing a medical condition (informal):
- The medication can cause patients to become temporarily leaky.
Advanced Usage
- "Leaky gut": A hypothetical, medically debated condition in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged, allowing undigested food particles, toxins, and bacteria to pass into the bloodstream.
- Some alternative medicine practitioners focus on treating leaky gut syndrome.
- "Leaky abstraction": In computer science, an abstraction that fails to fully hide the underlying details it is supposed to abstract.
- Dealing with memory management in a high-level language can expose a leaky abstraction.
Variants and Related Words
- Leak (verb/noun): The act or instance of leaking.
- The pipe began to leak. / There was a gas leak.
- Leakiness (noun): The state or quality of being leaky.
- The leakiness of the old roof was evident after the storm.
Synonyms
- Porous: Full of tiny holes that allow water or air to pass through slowly.
- Drippy: Tending to drip (often used for faucets).
- Incontinent: Lacking voluntary control over urination or defecation (formal medical term).
- Indiscreet: Revealing things that should remain secret.
Related Phrases
- Spring a leak: To begin to leak suddenly.
- The old tire sprang a leak and went flat.
Related Idioms
- A leaky ship: Often used metaphorically to describe an organization, plan, or argument that is flawed and failing.
- Their financial strategy was a leaky ship from the start.
Adjective
-
prone to communicate confidential information
-
used informally; unable to retain urine
-
permitting the unwanted passage of fluids or gases
-
a leaky roof
-
a leaky defense system
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