Leaping - Definitions from Dictionary.com

4 results for: Leaping

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

leap

Audio Help [leep] Pronunciation Key verb, leaped or leapt, leap·ing, noun

–verb (used without object)

1.	to spring through the air from one point or position to another; jump: to leap over a ditch.

2.	to move or act quickly or suddenly: to leap aside; She leaped at the opportunity.

3.	to pass, come, rise, etc., as if with a jump: to leap to a conclusion; an idea that immediately leaped to mind.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to jump over: to leap a fence.

5.	to pass over as if by a jump.

6.	to cause to leap: to leap a horse.

–noun

7.	a spring, jump, or bound; a light, springing movement.

8.	the distance covered in a leap; distance jumped.

9.	a place leaped or to be leaped over or from.

10.	a sudden or abrupt transition: a successful leap from piano class to concert hall.

11.	a sudden and decisive increase: a leap in the company's profits.

—Idioms

12.	by leaps and bounds, very rapidly: We are progressing by leaps and bounds.

13.	leap in the dark, an action of which the consequences are unknown: The experiment was a leap in the dark.

14.	leap of faith, an act or instance of accepting or trusting in something that cannot readily be seen or proved.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME lepen, OE hléapan to leap, run; c. G laufen, ON hlaupa, Goth hlaupan

]

—Related forms

leaper, noun

—Synonyms 1. bound. See jump.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Leaping

To learn more about Leaping visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

leap Audio Help   (lēp) Pronunciation Key
v.   leaped or leapt (lěpt, lēpt), leap·ing, leaps

v.   intr.

To spring or bound upward from or as if from the ground; jump: leaped over the wall; salmon leaping upriver.
1. To move quickly or abruptly from one condition or subject to another: always leaping to conclusions.
2. To act impulsively: leaped at the opportunity to travel.

v. tr.

To jump over: couldn't leap the brook.
To cause to leap: leap a horse over a hurdle.

1. The act of leaping; a jump.
2. A place jumped over or from.
3. The distance cleared in a leap.
An abrupt or precipitous passage, shift, or transition: a leap from rags to riches.

[Middle English lepen, from Old English hlēapan.]

leap'er n.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

leaping
noun
a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards [syn: leap]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Leaping

Leap\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Leaped, rarely Leapt; p. pr. & vb. n. Leaping.] [OE. lepen, leapen, AS. hle['a]pan to leap, jump, run; akin to OS. [=a]hl?pan, OFries. hlapa, D. loopen, G. laufen, OHG. louffan, hlauffan, Icel. hlaupa, Sw. l["o]pa, Dan. l["o]be, Goth. ushlaupan. Cf. Elope, Lope, Lapwing, Loaf to loiter.]

1. To spring clear of the ground, with the feet; to jump; to vault; as, a man leaps over a fence, or leaps upon a horse. --Bacon.

Leap in with me into this angry flood. --Shak.

2. To spring or move suddenly, as by a jump or by jumps; to bound; to move swiftly. Also Fig.

My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky. --Wordsworth.

Browse Nearby Entries: