leapfrog

1 of 2

noun

leap·​frog ˈlēp-ˌfrȯg How to pronounce leapfrog (audio)
-ˌfräg
: a game in which one player bends down and is vaulted over by another player

leapfrog

2 of 2

verb

leapfrogged; leapfrogging

intransitive verb

: to leap or progress in or as if in leapfrog

transitive verb

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
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Noun
The victory sees the Ravens leapfrog the Chargers in the AFC playoff standings, with Baltimore moving up to fifth and the Bolts falling to sixth. Ben Morse, CNN, 26 Nov. 2024 My optimism is that BCI companies will rise to the occasion and leapfrog gaps in policy rather than letting their users boil in the waters of broken health coverage. Naveen Rao, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
Verb
Chicago leapfrogs over both Beijing (which has dropped two places since last year from 10th to 12th) and Shanghai (down three places from 11th to 14th) to claim a place in the top 10 for the first time with 127,100 millionaires, 295 centis and 25 billionaires. Duncan Madden, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025 In their bid to increase development, the reforms largely leapfrog existing local processes, including local residents’ ability to weigh in at meetings or launch campaigns to slow reforms. Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 19 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for leapfrog

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1599, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1872, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of leapfrog was in 1599

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Cite this Entry

“Leapfrog.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leapfrog. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

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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