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Leach vs Leak - What's the difference?

leach | leak |

As nouns the difference between leach and leak

is that leach is a quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali while leak is a crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape.

As verbs the difference between leach and leak

is that leach is to purge a soluble matter out of something by the action of a percolating fluid while leak is to allow fluid to escape or enter something that should be sealed.

As a proper noun Leach

is {{surname|lang=en}.

As an adjective leak is

leaky.

leach

English

Noun

(leaches)
  • A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali.
  • A tub or vat for leaching ashes, bark, etc.
  • * 1894 , , In the Midst of Alarms , ch. 7:
    • "This is the leach ," said Kitty, pointing to a large, yellowish, upright wooden cylinder, which rested on some slanting boards, down the surface of which ran a brownish liquid that dripped into a trough.
  • (nautical)

    • Verb

  • To purge a soluble matter out of something by the action of a percolating fluid.
    • Heavy rainfall can leach out minerals important for plant growth from the soil.
  • * '>citation
  • To part with soluble constituents by percolation.

    • Usage notes

    Do not confuse this verb with the verb .

    Derived terms

    * (l)

    Anagrams

    *

    leak

    English

    Noun

    (leak) (en noun)
  • A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape.
    • a leak in a roof
    a leak in a boat
    a leak in a gas pipe
  • The entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture.
    • The leak gained on the ship's pumps.
  • A divulgation, or disclosure, of information held secret until then.
    • The leaks by Chelsea Manning showed the secrets of the US military.
  • The person through whom such divulgation, or disclosure, occurred.
    • The press must have learned about the plan through a leak .
  • (computing) The gradual loss of a system resource caused by failure to deallocate previously reserved portions.
    • resource leak
    memory leak
  • An act of urination.
    • I have to take a leak .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To allow fluid to escape or enter something that should be sealed.
    • The faucet has been leaking since last month.
  • To reveal secret information.
    • ''Someone must have leaked it to our competitors that the new product will be out soon.

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (obsolete) Leaky.
  • * 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , VI.8:
    • Yet is the bottle leake , and bag so torne, / That all which I put in fals out anon […].

    Anagrams

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