leap

verb

\ ˈlēp

leaped or leapt\ ˈlēpt

also ˈlept

\; leaping\ ˈlē-piŋ

Definition of leap

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to spring free from or as if from the ground : jump leap over a fence a fish leaps out of the water

2a : to pass abruptly from one state or topic to another the difficult leap from college to the workplace

b : to act precipitately leaped at the chance

transitive verb

: to pass over by leaping leaped the wall

leap

noun

Definition of leap (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : an act of leaping : spring, bound

b(1) : a place leaped over or from

(2) : the distance covered by a leap

2a : a sudden passage or transition a great leap forward

b : a choice made in an area of ultimate concern a leap of faith

by leaps and bounds

: with extraordinary rapidity a town growing by leaps and bounds

Other Words from leap Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about leap

Keep scrolling for more

Synonyms for leap

Synonyms: Verb

bound, hop, jump, spring, vault

Synonyms: Noun

bound, hop, jump, spring, vault

Examples of leap in a Sentence

Verb

The cat suddenly leaped into the air. Fish were leaping out of the water. He leaped off the bridge. The boys leaped over the stream. The horse leaped the stone wall. When the alarm went off, she leapt out of bed.

Noun

She made a graceful leap into the air. He ran and took a flying leap over the stream. He won the high jump with a leap of six feet. the leap from childhood to adulthood She has shown great leaps in ability. Technology has taken a great leap forward. It required a leap of the imagination to picture how the project would look when it was completed.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The Metropolitan Police force said that two officers were trying to pull over a van in east London when a man leapt out and stabbed one police officer several times. — Washington Post, "London police officer seriously hurt in machete attack," 8 Aug. 2019 Receiver Ryan Grant made a leaping catch with the second-team offense and massive right tackle Trent Brown cleared a running lane on another play by pushing a Rams linebacker to the ground. — Matt Kawahara, SFChronicle.com, "Raiders’ offense has flashes — and lulls — in practice with Rams," 7 Aug. 2019 The driver — who will later be convicted of dangerous driving — leaps out and flees. — Carina Chocano, New York Times, "When Gender Reveal Videos Go Spectacularly, Cathartically Wrong," 1 Aug. 2019 Barbara Ridlon swung her car into the parking lot, leaped out, and raced headlong toward the man who was pounding his wife for having the temerity to defy him and buy a pair of shoes. — Kevin Cullen, BostonGlobe.com, "Boston’s Barbara Ridlon was all cop, and that’s high praise," 1 Aug. 2019 Seahawk and Super Stallion helicopters leap and land like gigantic insects, feeding on the mother ship. — Sam Kiley, CNN, "On the ship that downed a military drone, one small mistake could cause a war with Iran," 19 July 2019 Aldrin leaped up the ladder, and then, the first man on the moon became the second to leave it. — Jeffrey Kluger, CBS News, "To the Moon! A chronicle of mankind's greatest adventure," 14 July 2019 My older sister and I, who shared a bedroom, leapt out of bed and ran to the flagstone entry of our ranch-style house to join our parents, who’d also been shaken awake. — Robin Abcarian, latimes.com, "Every California family has an earthquake story. Mine is embarrassing but true," 9 July 2019 Two batters after Mancini singled to lead off the sixth, Pedro Severino hit a deep fly to center, but Bradley leaped at the wall and got his glove on it. — Nathan Ruiz, baltimoresun.com, "Red Sox hit six homers, blast Orioles, 13-2, to open series," 14 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The ability to deliver medical care remotely is growing by leaps and bounds. — Marie Fishpaw, National Review, "A Health Plan for President Trump," 1 Aug. 2019 Indeed, in this day and age redundancies are multiplying by fits and starts and leaps and bounds. — Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Redundancies are now the junk food of our language," 20 July 2019 While that may paint the picture that investing in soccer in Colorado has been a fool’s errand, the Rapids franchise has also appreciated by leaps and bounds. — Mark Goodman, The Denver Post, "Backpass: Is there a path to pro women’s soccer in Colorado?," 12 July 2019 Megan's support appears to have helped Brian make leaps and bounds in his own life. — Caitlin O'kane, CBS News, "Immediately after World Cup win, Megan Rapinoe wishes Brian a happy birthday. Who is he?," 8 July 2019 Look to the most difficult teams the USWNT faced ahead of the final: France and England, federations without long histories of success that both have recently grown their women’s domestic leagues by leaps and bounds. — Maggie Mertens, The Atlantic, "The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Deserves More Than a Trophy," 7 July 2019 The budget of the religious directorate, the agency responsible for the conduct of sermons in the country’s mosques, has grown by leaps and bounds, overtaking several ministries in the process. — P.z. | Istanbul, The Economist, "In Turkey, demography is a brake on Islamisation," 1 July 2019 But despite what every article since the launch of Virtù has told you, that was never his best work to begin with, and his food has grown leaps and bounds in the several years since. — Dominic Armato, azcentral, "The best restaurants in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley," 1 July 2019 Your understanding of problems and people grows by leaps and bounds. — BostonGlobe.com, "Horoscope for Monday, June 17," 17 June 2019

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