/ liːtʃ; NAmE / verb ( technical )
1.
[ v ] leach (from sth) (into sth) | leach out / away ( of chemicals, minerals, etc. ) to be removed from soil, etc. by water passing through it :
Nitrates leach from the soil into rivers.
2.
[ vn ] leach sth (from sth) (into sth) | leach sth out / away ( of a liquid ) to remove chemicals, minerals, etc. from soil :
The nutrient is quickly leached away.
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English leccan to water , of West Germanic origin. The current sense dates from the mid 19th cent.