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Glite Dictionary
stop leak

stop leak

4.9
A liquid added to a car radiator to seal small holes for a short time
  • noun
translation icon : sellador de fugas
  • The mechanic suggested adding stop leak to the radiator to fix the problem temporarily.

Examples

  • When my car started leaking coolant, I used stop leak to avoid further damage until I could get it repaired.

  • Many drivers keep a bottle of stop leak in their trunk in case of emergencies.

  • Although stop leak can help with minor leaks, a damaged radiator may still need professional repair.

  • I bought a bottle of stop leak yesterday.

  • The mechanic recommended using stop leak in my car.

  • Many drivers keep a bottle of stop leak in their trunk to temporarily seal radiator leaks.

  • The mechanic suggested using stop leak as a quick fix for the leaking radiator.

Synonyms

stop-leak
vsstop leak
  • Specialized
6.5

A liquid you add to a car radiator to seal small leaks temporarily

is the same product but written without a hyphen in the phrase

Surface Forms

stop leak singular
stop leaks plural

Morphology

stop + leak

The noun is directly compositional: combining 'stop' (prevent) with 'leak' (an escape of liquid) yields the meaning 'something that stops a leak,' i.e., a product to seal leaks. This follows ordinary English compounding/verb-to-adjective patterns and has clear cross-linguistic equivalents, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

Stop leak comes from the plain image of pouring a bottle into a radiator so the liquid can plug a hole and stop a leak. So, the word now means 'a liquid additive used to seal leaks temporarily'.