leap·frog
ˈlēp-ˌfrȯg 
-ˌfräg
: a game in which one player bends down and is vaulted over by another player
leapfrogged; leapfrogging
: to leap or progress in or as if in leapfrog
1
: to go ahead of (each other) in turn
specifically
: to advance (two military units) by keeping one unit in action while moving the other unit past it to a position farther in front
2
: to evade by or as if by a bypass
Examples of leapfrog in a Sentence
Verb
Skipping his last two years of high school, he leapfrogged his classmates and went to college.
This year's technologies are leapfrogging last year's designs.
Recent Examples on the Web
Sherzod Odilov, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
His actors get hung out to dry, convincing neither in that steamy mode nor in their escalating multiple-personality acts, as the evil spirit plays leapfrog between different bodies.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 Oct. 2023
Gonna be playing leapfrog with the team below for the next two months.
—Gabe Lacques, The Enquirer, 31 July 2023
Drugmakers play a game of leapfrog, trying to get in front of the evolutionary maneuvers that bacteria use to protect themselves from drugs.
—Maryn McKenna, Scientific American, 19 May 2021
Monument Realty played leapfrog — again.
—Dallas News, 9 Nov. 2022
Some countries are highly digitized and made the leapfrog of digital transformation, like Sweden, Estonia, or Lithuania.
—Uri Levine, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2023
With this network, India has shown on a previously unseen scale how rapid technological innovation can have a leapfrog effect for developing nations, spurring economic growth even as physical infrastructure lags.
—Hari Kumar, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2023
Gene flow predicated on linguistic affiliation at such a remove seems implausible, so the most parsimonious explanation is that the Munda languages arrived in India from Southeast Asia as part of a leapfrog folk wandering.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 28 Oct. 2010
Eric MacK, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Rookie Jackson Merrill leapfrogged Triple-A altogether to become the confident-beyond-his-years starter in center field.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2024
What was a $50,000 firm in 2020 leapfrogged to $230,000 in 2021 and reached nearly $1 million in revenue in 2022.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024
So, McClung and his buddies had to find creative ways to simulate leapfrogging the Big Shamrock.
—Mat Issa, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
The wave has been so large that China leapfrogged Japan in 2023 to become the largest purveyor of passenger cars to the world for the first time, exporting 3.8 million vehicles for a staggering 62% increase in one year alone.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2024
Virginia Tech moved up two spots to 11th, leapfrogging Kansas State and UConn.
—Doug Feinberg, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2024
As additionally the heaviest and most unabashedly ambitious band in the scene, Soundgarden leapfrogged quickly from Sub Pop to a major label in the late ‘80s.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 9 Mar. 2024
Now Garvey has leapfrogged her in the populous county, grabbing 34% support among likely voters.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
Noun
With a system that learned from existing applications, Apple was able to deliver a product that felt like a leap forward for consumers while being a practical leapfrog for the company.
—Sherzod Odilov, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
His actors get hung out to dry, convincing neither in that steamy mode nor in their escalating multiple-personality acts, as the evil spirit plays leapfrog between different bodies.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 Oct. 2023
Gonna be playing leapfrog with the team below for the next two months.
—Gabe Lacques, The Enquirer, 31 July 2023
Drugmakers play a game of leapfrog, trying to get in front of the evolutionary maneuvers that bacteria use to protect themselves from drugs.
—Maryn McKenna, Scientific American, 19 May 2021
Monument Realty played leapfrog — again.
—Dallas News, 9 Nov. 2022
Some countries are highly digitized and made the leapfrog of digital transformation, like Sweden, Estonia, or Lithuania.
—Uri Levine, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2023
With this network, India has shown on a previously unseen scale how rapid technological innovation can have a leapfrog effect for developing nations, spurring economic growth even as physical infrastructure lags.
—Hari Kumar, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2023
Gene flow predicated on linguistic affiliation at such a remove seems implausible, so the most parsimonious explanation is that the Munda languages arrived in India from Southeast Asia as part of a leapfrog folk wandering.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 28 Oct. 2010
Verb
That’s because mobile technology leapfrogged the slow-moving legacy telecoms to provide better, affordable service to populations deemed unworthy of such critical infrastructure.
—Eric MacK, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Rookie Jackson Merrill leapfrogged Triple-A altogether to become the confident-beyond-his-years starter in center field.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2024
What was a $50,000 firm in 2020 leapfrogged to $230,000 in 2021 and reached nearly $1 million in revenue in 2022.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024
So, McClung and his buddies had to find creative ways to simulate leapfrogging the Big Shamrock.
—Mat Issa, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
The wave has been so large that China leapfrogged Japan in 2023 to become the largest purveyor of passenger cars to the world for the first time, exporting 3.8 million vehicles for a staggering 62% increase in one year alone.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2024
Virginia Tech moved up two spots to 11th, leapfrogging Kansas State and UConn.
—Doug Feinberg, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2024
As additionally the heaviest and most unabashedly ambitious band in the scene, Soundgarden leapfrogged quickly from Sub Pop to a major label in the late ‘80s.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 9 Mar. 2024
Now Garvey has leapfrogged her in the populous county, grabbing 34% support among likely voters.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leapfrog.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1599, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1872, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Dictionary Entries Near leapfrog
Cite this Entry
“Leapfrog.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leapfrog. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
leapfrog
noun
leap·frog
ˈlēp-ˌfrȯg,
-ˌfräg
: a game in which the first player bends down and another leaps over
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