'Leek' is the vegetable; 'leak' is a hole that lets liquid or gas escape, or the verb to drip or escape.
Noun. A vegetable of the onion family with long green leaves and a white stem, with a mild onion flavour.
Add sliced leek to the soup for a mild, sweet flavour.
The leek is the national vegetable and emblem of Wales.
She sautéed leek and garlic as the base for the pasta sauce.
Noun/verb. A hole or crack through which liquid or gas escapes. Also: to reveal confidential information.
There is a slow leak in the office roof that appears every time it rains.
Someone leaked the confidential report to the press.
The data leak exposed thousands of customer records.
Common mistake
"There was a leek in the pipe" when meaning a hole (correct: leak). Or writing 'document leek' when the correct word is 'document leak'.
Trick to remember it
'Leek' has double E like 'peel' and 'seed' — vegetable words with EE. 'Leak' has EA like 'drEAm' escaping — something slipping out through EA.
Quick rule
Is it the vegetable? 'Leek'. Is it the hole, drip, or information leak? 'Leak'.
Did you know?
The leek is the national emblem of Wales and appears on the Welsh coat of arms alongside the red dragon. According to tradition, St. David advised Welsh soldiers to wear leeks in their helmets to distinguish themselves from the Saxons during a 7th-century battle. Whether the story is historical or not, the leek remains Wales's national symbol — worn on St David's Day (March 1). In English, 'leak' in data security ('data leak', 'press leak') has become one of the most commonly used senses of the word.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Engineers discovered a gas _____ in the main supply pipe and shut off the street.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The recipe calls for one large _____, finely sliced and gently fried.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Is it the vegetable? 'Leek'. Is it the hole, drip, or information leak? 'Leak'.
"There was a leek in the pipe" when meaning a hole (correct: leak). Or writing 'document leek' when the correct word is 'document leak'.
'Leek' has double E like 'peel' and 'seed' — vegetable words with EE. 'Leak' has EA like 'drEAm' escaping — something slipping out through EA.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy