gallop

1 of 2

verb

gal·​lop ˈga-ləp 

galloped; galloping; gallops

intransitive verb

1

: to progress or ride at a gallop

2

: to run fast

transitive verb

1

: to cause to gallop

2

: to transport at a gallop

galloper noun

gallop

2 of 2

noun

1

: a bounding gait of a quadruped

specifically : a fast natural usually 4-beat gait of the horse compare canter entry 3, run

2

: a ride or run at a gallop

3

: a stretch of land suitable for galloping horses

4

: a rapid or hasty progression or pace

Synonyms

Verb

• trot
• jog
• run

Examples of gallop in a Sentence

Verb

The horse galloped toward us.

He mounted his horse and galloped off to sound the alarm.

She galloped her horse toward us.

I grabbed my books and galloped out the door.

The program gallops through early American history.

Noun

The horse was at full gallop.

He mounted his horse and took off at a gallop.

We went for a gallop through the countryside.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Ineffably, Renko’s qualities of solidity and rebelliousness bring my father back to me, and the whole 11-book series, set mostly in Russia (with excursions to Cuba and the Arctic Circle), is a galloping wonder, full of apparatchiks, spies, oligarchs, gangsters, and murders galore. —Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 16 July 2025

Costa Rica offers the stuff of vacation advertisements: horses galloping on a white-sand beach, surfers crouched in an enormous barrel wave, sea turtles nesting near the ocean. —AFAR Media, 11 July 2025

Noun

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess gallops back onto the Official Album Downloads chart at No. 65. —Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025

Skubal briefly stops in, threads a navy belt through the loops in his white pants, grabs his black Nike glove and gallops out toward the field. —Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 30 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English galopen, walopen, borrowed from Anglo-French galoper, gualoper (Picard dialect waloper), perhaps going back to Old Low Franconian *wala hlaupan, literally "to run well," from *wala "well, with good appearance or effect" (going back to Germanic *welō) + *hlaupan "to run," going back to Germanic *hlaup-a- — more at well entry 3, leap entry 1

Note: An alternative explanation sees the Old French noun as primary, and derived from Old Low Franconian *walhlaup-, from *wal- "battlefield" and *hlaup-, a nominal derivative of *hlaupan (hence alluding to a warriorʼs manner of riding on the battlefield). Though the meaning of the first noun is reflected in Old High German wal "battlefield," the general meaning of the Germanic etymon is "the slain, the dead in battle" (see valhalla).

Noun

borrowed from Middle French & Anglo-French galop, noun derivative of galoper "to gallop entry 1"; replacing Middle English walop, borrowed from Anglo-French walop, galop

Note: Alternatively, the noun could be original, and the verb a derivative of the noun. See note at gallop entry 1.

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1523, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gallop

• jalap
• scallop
• shallop

Kids Definition

gallop

1 of 2 verb

gal·​lop ˈgal-əp 

1

: to go or cause to go at a gallop

2

: to run fast

galloper noun

gallop

2 of 2 noun

1

: a fast bounding gait of a four-footed animal in which all four feet are off the ground at one time once in each stride

especially : a fast gait of the horse with a three-beat or four-beat rhythm

2

: a ride or run at a gallop

3

: a rapid progression or pace

Medical Definition

gallop

1 of 2 intransitive verb

gal·​lop ˈgal-əp 

: to progress or ride at a gallop

transitive verb

: to cause to gallop

gallop

2 of 2 noun

1

: a bounding gait of a quadruped

specifically : a fast natural 3-beat gait of the horse

2

: gallop rhythm