1
: to spring free from or as if from the ground : jump
leap over a fence
a fish leaps out of the water
2
a
: 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
: to pass over by leaping
leaped the wall
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
Michael Nowels, Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2025
Grant was dazzlingly handsome, of course, but something else about him had leapt off the screen and captured her imagination.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 12 Oct. 2025
Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 11 Oct. 2025
Intel has unveiled its most advanced client and server processors yet, marking a major leap in semiconductor technology.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leap
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
If the Quakes win and any of those three teams lose, San Jose will leap that team in the standings after accounting for tiebreakers.
—Michael Nowels, Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2025
Grant was dazzlingly handsome, of course, but something else about him had leapt off the screen and captured her imagination.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 12 Oct. 2025
Noun
Eighteen years later, smartphones are vastly more powerful, but each new crop offers fewer dramatic leaps in performance and features.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 11 Oct. 2025
Intel has unveiled its most advanced client and server processors yet, marking a major leap in semiconductor technology.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leap
Cite this Entry
“Leap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leap. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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