leap out at
phrasal verb
leaped out at or leapt out at; leaping at; leaps out at
1
: to suddenly come at (someone) from a hiding place
The man leaped out at her from behind a shrub.
2
: to immediately get the attention of (someone)
The picture on the magazine's cover leaps out at you.
Examples of leap out at in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But the people who do these tasks are already more likely to be women than men, and the book’s hot-pink cover, which has a line drawing of a mother and child, isn’t exactly designed to leap out at the male reader.
—
Anna Louie Sussman, The Atlantic, 7 Nov. 2025
When the doors open, on either side, the rivals will leap out at each other.
—Matt Alt, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Xavier Restrepo’s measurables won’t leap out at anyone, but his production at Miami is undeniable.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
One date in the flight logs leapt out at Piñeyro: December 14, 1977.
—Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Dec. 2024
Honey is one of the first notes that leaps out at you on the nose, along with vanilla and apricot.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2024
Even the film’s one or two glimmers of hope, which only leap out at the very end, appear as mere mirages in a desert of drugs and American decline.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2024
The North Korean provenance of yesterday's nuclear explosion leaps out at even the most casual visitor to the Web site of NORSAR, the Norwegian Seismic Array, north of Oslo.
—IEEE Spectrum, 13 Feb. 2013
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Anna Louie Sussman, The Atlantic, 7 Nov. 2025
When the doors open, on either side, the rivals will leap out at each other.
—Matt Alt, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Xavier Restrepo’s measurables won’t leap out at anyone, but his production at Miami is undeniable.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
One date in the flight logs leapt out at Piñeyro: December 14, 1977.
—Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Dec. 2024
Honey is one of the first notes that leaps out at you on the nose, along with vanilla and apricot.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2024
Even the film’s one or two glimmers of hope, which only leap out at the very end, appear as mere mirages in a desert of drugs and American decline.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2024
The North Korean provenance of yesterday's nuclear explosion leaps out at even the most casual visitor to the Web site of NORSAR, the Norwegian Seismic Array, north of Oslo.
—IEEE Spectrum, 13 Feb. 2013
Cite this Entry
“Leap out at.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leap%20out%20at. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.
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