leaky
/ˈliːki/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.06 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Tending to leak secrets or information.
Example Sentences
- "The leaky bucket dripped only one drop at a time, but by the time I got back to the house it was half empty."
- "The ceiling was so leaky that someone had to fix it."
- "Nuclear reactors in Russian submarines are said to be so leaky that crews are often paid "sterility money"."
- "The spooks' argument against this is that the secret service would become leaky and demoralised […]"
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”).