1
: to spring free from or as if from the ground : jump
leap over a fence
a fish leaps out of the water
2
a
: to pass abruptly from one state or topic to another
the difficult leap from college to the workplace
b
: to act precipitately
leaped at the chance
: to pass over by leaping
leaped the wall
Synonyms
Examples of leap in a Sentence
Verb
The cat suddenly leaped into the air.
Fish were leaping out of the water.
He leaped off the bridge.
The boys leaped over the stream.
The horse leaped the stone wall.
When the alarm went off, she leapt out of bed.
Noun
She made a graceful leap into the air.
He ran and took a flying leap over the stream.
He won the high jump with a leap of six feet.
the leap from childhood to adulthood
She has shown great leaps in ability.
Technology has taken a great leap forward.
It required a leap of the imagination to picture how the project would look when it was completed.
Recent Examples on the Web
Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2024
Today’s updates leap forward another generation while keeping tokens from the past.
—Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 24 Apr. 2024
At game farms and off-site locations, trainers can get the wolves to howl or a cougar to leap on command with a scrap of raw meat.
—Rene Ebersole, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2024
The first and only House member to leap directly to the presidency was James Garfield more than 143 years ago.
—USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024
Once the watch is moved again, the motion detector at 4:30 causes the watch to leap back to the accurate time, moving the shortest distance—clockwise or counter—to minimize battery expenditure.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2024
Her character, Lee, is a skilled photojournalist, and if your mind doesn’t automatically leap to Lee Miller, celebrated for her stunning images of the Second World War, rest assured that Garland’s script is eager to connect the dots.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2024
The agency’s rates edged up again in 2019 and 2020, then leaped to almost 33 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021.
—Robin Fields, ProPublica, 5 Apr. 2024
The project's premise leaps past the stereotypes of low-income women, particularly women of color, Stilp said.
—Jessica Van Egeren, Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2024
Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2024
While some Muslims might remain wary of alienating parts of America who feel negatively about them, especially during this time of high tensions in the Middle East, others appear to be taking a leap forward, inviting people to understand them through their culture and their craft.
—Zohreen Shah, ABC News, 24 Apr. 2024
And now, she’s done something that would be hard for anyone as an emerging manager to do—she’s raised a second fund, which is one of the most statistically difficult leaps to make in venture.
—Byallie Garfinkle, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2024
Whether Alvvays will indeed take a leap to larger venues on the next album cycle remains to be seen.
—Journal Sentinel, 23 Apr. 2024
Sitting in his office at the end of March, searching for a way to somehow quantify the physical leaps made by the jumbo-sized 6-foot-4 ball of energy in his wide receiver room, Lincoln Riley’s eyes darted to the items on his desk.
—Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 21 Apr. 2024
These technological leaps inaugurated a vastly different and connected world, just as the telephone and internal-combustion engine did in the 19th century.
—TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
Loudermilk, who will compete in the Relays high jump at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, placed sixth at the 2023 Texas Relays with a leap of 7 feet, and 1/4 inches , clearing that 7-foot standard outdoors for the first time.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2024
Growing up, Carole took Carrie to talent shows, even making her sparkly costumes, and was the one who encouraged her daughter to take the leap to try out for American Idol.
—Emily Krauser, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
Verb
People on board a tour boat near New Quay, a tiny fishing village, spotted a bottlenose dolphin leaping high above the horizon.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2024
Today’s updates leap forward another generation while keeping tokens from the past.
—Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 24 Apr. 2024
At game farms and off-site locations, trainers can get the wolves to howl or a cougar to leap on command with a scrap of raw meat.
—Rene Ebersole, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2024
The first and only House member to leap directly to the presidency was James Garfield more than 143 years ago.
—USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024
Once the watch is moved again, the motion detector at 4:30 causes the watch to leap back to the accurate time, moving the shortest distance—clockwise or counter—to minimize battery expenditure.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2024
Her character, Lee, is a skilled photojournalist, and if your mind doesn’t automatically leap to Lee Miller, celebrated for her stunning images of the Second World War, rest assured that Garland’s script is eager to connect the dots.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2024
The agency’s rates edged up again in 2019 and 2020, then leaped to almost 33 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021.
—Robin Fields, ProPublica, 5 Apr. 2024
The project's premise leaps past the stereotypes of low-income women, particularly women of color, Stilp said.
—Jessica Van Egeren, Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
Kyle could be the starting big man unless Aday Mara makes a massive offseason leap.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2024
While some Muslims might remain wary of alienating parts of America who feel negatively about them, especially during this time of high tensions in the Middle East, others appear to be taking a leap forward, inviting people to understand them through their culture and their craft.
—Zohreen Shah, ABC News, 24 Apr. 2024
And now, she’s done something that would be hard for anyone as an emerging manager to do—she’s raised a second fund, which is one of the most statistically difficult leaps to make in venture.
—Byallie Garfinkle, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2024
Whether Alvvays will indeed take a leap to larger venues on the next album cycle remains to be seen.
—Journal Sentinel, 23 Apr. 2024
Sitting in his office at the end of March, searching for a way to somehow quantify the physical leaps made by the jumbo-sized 6-foot-4 ball of energy in his wide receiver room, Lincoln Riley’s eyes darted to the items on his desk.
—Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 21 Apr. 2024
These technological leaps inaugurated a vastly different and connected world, just as the telephone and internal-combustion engine did in the 19th century.
—TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
Loudermilk, who will compete in the Relays high jump at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, placed sixth at the 2023 Texas Relays with a leap of 7 feet, and 1/4 inches , clearing that 7-foot standard outdoors for the first time.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2024
Growing up, Carole took Carrie to talent shows, even making her sparkly costumes, and was the one who encouraged her daughter to take the leap to try out for American Idol.
—Emily Krauser, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leap.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near leap
Cite this Entry
“Leap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leap. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
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