seep out

seep out

1. Literally, of a gas or liquid, to flow out and escape (from something) gradually but steadily, as through a leak, crack, puncture, etc. There must have be a leak in the oil tank of the car, because it keeps seeping out onto the driveway. Make sure you close the valve tight on that jar—we don't want any of the gas to seep out.

2. To become known to those from whom (something) was supposed to remain secret or classified. The senator always held himself up as a beacon of moral standards, but as rumors and details of his infidelities and substances abuses seeped out, he eventually became a pariah among his constituents. News of the merger seeped out months before the two companies made a formal announcement about it.

See also: out, seep

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

seep out (of something)

[for a fluid] to trickle or leak out of something. A lot of oil has seeped out of the car onto the driveway. There is oil seeping out. There must be a leak.

See also: out, seep

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

seep out

v.

1. To escape or pass slowly through small openings or pores: I think that gas is seeping out through a crack in the tank.

2. To become known to the public through a breach of secrecy: The details they refused to talk about will eventually seep out to the press.

See also: out, seep

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.