gallop

verb

gal·lop | \ˈga-ləp

galloped; galloping; gallops

Definition of gallop

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

gallop

noun

Definition of gallop (Entry 2 of 2)

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

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Synonyms for gallop

Synonyms: Verb

dash, jog, run, sprint, trip, trot

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

On the campaign trail, rivals attacked the president’s economic record, pointing to the dwindling Turkish lira and galloping inflation. — David Gauthier-villars, WSJ, "After Victory, Erdogan Promises to Strengthen Turkey," 25 June 2018 But the secretive firm, which for nine years has unnerved viewers with YouTube videos of robots that jump, gallop or prowl like animal predators, is starting to emerge from a quarter-century of stealth. — Matt O'brien, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Boston Dynamics' scary robot videos: Are they for real?," 8 June 2018 Some of them may even be comfortable galloping behind such a huge pack. — Bloomberg.com, "Eating Dirt on Kentucky Derby Day," 1 May 2018 The Man in Black and Lawrence gallop off into the sunset, the most cliché cowboy moment, with open fields and a sky awash in color. — Sandra Upson, WIRED, "Westworld Recap, Season 2 Episode 8: The Great Ghost Nation Mystery," 11 June 2018 Justify galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.60 and seven in 1:27.20 with about 100 spectators watching on the front stretch and just as many on the backside. — BostonGlobe.com, "Justify works out in advance of Belmont Stakes," 4 June 2018 My favorite of these is The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (1931), a dreamlike bird’s-eye view of the patriot galloping into an unknown future. — Danny Wilcox Frazier, Smithsonian, "In Search of the Real Grant Wood," 21 Feb. 2018 The 10-year-old mare bucked, whinnied, and galloped, sensing the pride of victory. — Mitchell Gladstone, Philly.com, "Pennsylvanian Andy Kocher races to victory in Devon Horse Show's Open Jumper Stake," 2 June 2018 Every move the pair made was tracked on video and immortalized in image-laden tweets (#LlamaWatch, #TeamLlama), as the llamas galloped through parking lots and side streets. — Longreads, "Wild At Heart," 17 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Closer, the buildings of a stable: An array of paths, horse gallops, stretch toward me. — Peter Rock, New York Times, "On the Unsettling Allure of ‘Watership Down’," 15 May 2018 Sam Upshaw, Louisville Courier Journal Five days after his Preakness triumph, Justify returned to the track for the first time Thursday with a light gallop at Churchill Downs. — Jason Frakes, The Courier-Journal, "Justify shows 'good bounce' in return to training for Belmont 2018," 24 May 2018 The Derby and Kentucky Oaks contenders were already gone, so the crowd's attention was elsewhere as Fierro gently nudged his horse to the rail and began to work into a gallop. — Danielle Lerner, The Courier-Journal, "Churchill Downs exercise rider uses horses as 'therapy' to beat cancer," 3 May 2018 The golfers are not too far into their round when a father-and-son twosome on an adjoining fairway spots the distinctive Clinton white mane and begins a headlong gallop toward the group, only to be intercepted by a Secret Service agent. — Jack Mccallum, SI.com, "The President Is Golfing," 27 June 2018 So on Friday morning, Gorder had her gallop on the muddy track. — Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, "Red Ruby wins Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico," 19 May 2018 See also: Kentucky Derby winner Justify '100 percent' after Thursday gallopThursday marked the first time Justify returned to the track since his Kentucky Derby victory on Saturday. — Jason Frakes, The Courier-Journal, "Justify gallops again at Churchill Downs as Preakness field develops," 11 May 2018 In this way, the race was a rerun of American Pharoah’s victory in 2015, a long gallop around the massive oval called Big Sandy, towing a field of lessers in his wake whose jockeys and trainers were left with an impossible conundrum. — Tim Layden, SI.com, "It's Instinctive to Compare Justify's Triple Crown to American Pharoah's but Both Share Connection to Greatness," 10 June 2018 Trainer Bob Baffert was getting impatient Thursday morning waiting for the painfully slow tractors to finish conditioning the track so Justify could start his morning gallop. — John Cherwa, latimes.com, "Distance is part of the mystique of the Belmont Stakes," 9 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gallop.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for gallop

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.

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