2 syllables: lea, ky. Stress on lea.
/ˈliki/
Say it backLeaky means allowing liquid or gas to pass through a surface or barrier, or figuratively failing to keep something secure or intact. It often describes a physical hole, crack, or seam where leakage occurs, or a situation where trust or secrecy is not well protected. The term conveys vulnerability or imperfect containment in both literal and metaphorical contexts.
"The old roof is leaky, so we get water at the ceiling after storms."
"Her secret was leaky, and details surfaced during the meeting."
"The faucet is leaky; you can hear a steady drip even when it’s off."
Pronounce it as /ˈliː.ki/. The first syllable has primary stress and uses a long e vowel; your lips should be spread as for 'see', with the tongue high and forward. The second syllable is a quick /ki/ with a clear i sound. In connected speech, you can reduce the duration slightly and maintain the same vowel quality. Think: LEE-kee.
Common errors include mispronouncing the first vowel as a short /ɪ/ or /ɛ/ and rushing the second syllable, making it sound like 'lecki' with a lax /i/. Another mistake is reducing the first syllable so it isn’t clearly stressed, giving an indistinct LEA-ky. Correct by holding the /iː/ a touch longer and ensuring the second syllable starts with a clear /k/ and a crisp /i/.
In US/UK/AU, the word maintains /ˈliː.ki/ with a long /iː/ in the first syllable. Rhoticity doesn’t change the vowel here, but crowding and flapping are minimal; US may have a slightly tighter /iː/ and faster transitions in rapid speech. All three varieties keep the /ki/ onset with a strong k release. The main differences lie in vowel length perception and intonation patterns in connected speech rather than pronunciation of the segments themselves.
The challenge lies in maintaining crisp separation and timing between the two syllables while sustaining a long, tense /iː/ in the first syllable and a clear /ki/ onset in the second. Beginners may slip into a lax or reduced vowel, or blend the syllables into something like /ˈliki/. Focus on a distinct boundary and a clear /iː/ before the plosive /k/ and high-front vowel /i/.
Yes. You’ll often hear a slightly rounded lip position for the second vowel, but the standard is a compact /i/ with tongue high-front. The key word-specific feature is the two-syllable, stressed-unstressed feel, where the first syllable carries the primary weight; the second syllable should stay light but clear with a clean /i/. Ensure your /k/ is released crisply before the final /i/.
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Leaky derives from the Middle English leken, meaning to leak or slip through, with the diminutive or adjectival suffix -y indicating 'having the quality of' or 'characterized by.' Its usage traces back to early English, where leak-related verbs described fluid passage through openings. Over time, leaky shifted from a literal sense—something that leaks or lets liquid escape—to broader figurative uses, such as «leaky roof» or «leaky faucet,» and metaphorical senses like leaky defenses or leaky memory. The root is related to Old English leccan, to leak, and to Proto-Germanic *leukaną, connected to the concept of flowing through or slipping out. By the 16th–17th centuries, leaky appeared as an adjective describing defective containment and vulnerability, aligning with other -y adjectives formed from verbs. In contemporary usage, leaky frequently appears in engineering, construction, plumbing, and security discussions, and can describe both physical leakage and information leakage, maintaining the core notion of imperfect containment while adapting to various domains.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "leaky" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "leaky"
-aky sounds
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