Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Old Norse
Origin: leka

leak

1 verb
     
leak1 S3
1 [intransitive and transitive] if a container, pipe, roof etc leaks, or if it leaks gas, liquid etc, there is a small hole or crack in it that lets gas or liquid flow through:
The roof is leaking.
A tanker is leaking oil off the coast of Scotland.
2 [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if a gas or liquid leaks somewhere, it gets through a hole in something [= seep]
leak into/from/out
Sea water was leaking into the batteries which powered the electric motors.
3 [transitive] to deliberately give secret information to a newspaper, television company etc:
The report's findings had been leaked.
leak something to somebody
civil servants who leak information to the press

leak out

phrasal verb
if secret information leaks out, a lot of people find out about it:
No sooner had the news leaked out than my telephone started ringing.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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