leapfrog

noun

leap·frog | \ ˈlēp-ˌfrȯg

How to pronounce leapfrog (audio)

, -ˌfräg\

Definition of leapfrog

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a game in which one player bends down and is vaulted over by another player

leapfrog

verb

leapfrogged; leapfrogging

Definition of leapfrog (Entry 2 of 2)

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: Noun

This feels like a higher calling, a profound leapfrog. — Will Hall, Recode, "Hey Siri, we have to talk," 4 June 2018 Find your leapfrog First of all, Apple didn’t create the first touchscreen, the first smartphone, the first MP3 player or the first personal computer. — Will Hall, Recode, "Hey Siri, we have to talk," 4 June 2018 Add this to the list of bad ideas: Playing leapfrog with a unicorn. — Houston Chronicle, "Jokes on us: June 11," 10 June 2018 The support van leapfrogs the runners, providing rest and camaraderie for team members. — Stan Grossfeld, BostonGlobe.com, "In a grueling relay, runners carry the burden on behalf of veterans," 10 May 2018 For him, the leapfrog innovation of Silicon Valley is far preferable. — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, "The Cute Robot That Follows You Around the City," 28 Feb. 2018 The Supreme Court’s refusal to let the administration leapfrog appeals courts means that DACA stays for at least a few months and perhaps until well after midterm elections. — Washington Post, "AP News Guide: DACA’s future rests with Congress, courts," 26 Feb. 2018 Others got in formation for leapfrog and duck-duck-goose. — Pia Catton, New York Times, "Making Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. Into Super Bowl’s Dancing M.V.P.s," 5 Feb. 2018 ICOs resemble both a new form of crowdfunding, and a technological leapfrog over the regulations that hem in more orthodox funding strategies. — The Economist, "Manias, panics and Initial Coin Offerings," 7 Oct. 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Beijing’s ambitions are outlined in the Made in China 2025 plan, an effort to leapfrog the West in numerous advanced industries. — Jon Talton, The Seattle Times, "Beijing’s ‘Trojan chips’ present a risk to more than corporations," 9 Oct. 2018 That’s the biggest reason Instagram Stories was able to leapfrog Snapchat Stories so quickly — because the network was already there to adopt the format. — Dan Frommer, Recode, "How Facebook could screw up Instagram now that its founders are leaving," 27 Sep. 2018 Costa Rica took an early lead in a game Panama had to win to leapfrog the U.S. for the final automatic berth, only to give up the go-ahead goal in the 87th minute. — Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, "Why you shouldn't root for these countries in the 2018 World Cup," 12 June 2018 The 2018 NBA Draft lottery is in the books: The Suns claimed the top spot, the Kings jumped way up to No. 2, and the Hawks leapfrogged the Grizzlies and Mavericks to claim the No. 3 spot. — Ben Golliver, SI.com, "Suns, Kings Headline Winners and Losers From the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery," 15 May 2018 This win, meshed with a résumé-glittering victory over Purdue earlier in the season, helped the Volunteers leapfrog Clemson at the No. 2 line. — Shelby Mast And Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY, "NCAA tournament bracketology: How Auburn is a No. 1 seed, Tennessee a No. 2 seed," 7 Feb. 2018 New tools from the field of synthetic biology could endow scientists with the frightening ability to design and manufacture maximally dangerous pathogens, leapfrogging natural selection. — R. Daniel Bressler, Vox, "“Designer bugs”: how the next pandemic might come from a lab," 6 Dec. 2018 Germany leapfrogged Norway as Europe’s biggest market for electrified cars, a sign consumers are warming to the technology just as Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG add batteries to their lineups to take on Tesla Inc. — Anthony Palazzo, Bloomberg.com, "Germans Are Buying More Electrified Cars Than Norwegians," 3 May 2018 And osteoarthritis and diabetes leapfrogged a wide range of conditions to become more important causes of Americans' disability. — Melissa Healy, latimes.com, "What ails America? The answer varies from state to state," 10 Apr. 2018

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

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Dictionary Entries near leapfrog

leap into action

Statistics for leapfrog

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Time Traveler for leapfrog

The first known use of leapfrog was in 1599

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More Definitions for leapfrog

leapfrog

noun

English Language Learners Definition of leapfrog

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a children's game in which one player bends down so that another player can leap over the back of the first player

leapfrog

verb

English Language Learners Definition of leapfrog (Entry 2 of 2)

: to move ahead of or beyond (someone or something) in a very quick and sudden way

See the full definition for leapfrog in the English Language Learners Dictionary

leapfrog

noun

leap·frog | \ ˈlēp-ˌfrȯg

, -ˌfräg\

Kids Definition of leapfrog

: a game in which one player bends down and another player leaps over the first player

WORD OF THE DAY

reverberate

to reflect, repel, echo, or resound

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