Definition of LEAP

leap

Plural: leaps

Noun

  • a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards
  • an abrupt transition
    • "a successful leap from college to the major leagues"
  • a sudden and decisive increase
  • the distance leaped (or to be leaped)
    • "a leap of 10 feet"
  • The act of leaping or jumping.
  • The distance traversed by a leap or jump.
  • A group of leopards.
  • A significant move forward.
  • A large step in reasoning, often one that is not justified by the facts.
  • A fault.
  • Copulation with, or coverture of, a female beast.
  • A passing from one note to another by an interval, especially by a long one, or by one including several other intermediate intervals.
  • A small cataract over which fish attempt to jump; a salmon ladder.
  • A trap or snare for fish, made from twigs; a weely.
  • Half a bushel.

Verb

Verb Forms: leaped, leapt, lept, leaping, leaps

  • To spring vigorously from the ground or a surface.
  • move forward by leaps and bounds
    • "The child leapt across the puddle"
  • pass abruptly from one state or topic to another
    • "leap into fame"
  • jump down from an elevated point
    • "the widow leapt into the funeral pyre"
  • cause to jump or leap
  • To jump.
  • To pass over by a leap or jump.
  • To copulate with (a female beast)
  • To copulate with (a human)
  • To cause to leap.

Adj

  • Intercalary, bissextile.

Examples

  • He made a leap across the river.
  • It's quite a leap to claim that those cloud formations are evidence of UFOs.
  • My score would LEAP ahead if I could just find a place for this ’Q’.
  • to leap a horse across a ditch
  • to leap a wall or a ditch

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English lepen, from Old English hlēapan, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaupan, from Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną. Doublet of lope, lowp, elope, gallop, galop, interlope, and loop.
Cognate with North Frisian laap, luup, luupe (“to jog, run, walk”), Saterland Frisian lope, loope (“to run”), West Frisian ljeppe (“to jump”), Dutch lopen (“to run; to walk”), German laufen (“to run; to walk”), Limburgish loupe (“to jog, run, walk”), Low German lopen, loupen (“to run”), Luxembourgish lafen (“to run”), Vilamovian łaojfa (“to run”), Danish løbe (“to run”), Faroese leypa (“to jump”), Icelandic hlaupa (“to run; to jump”), Norwegian Bokmål løpe (“to run”), Norwegian Nynorsk laupa, laupe, løpa, løpe (“to run”), Swedish löpa (“to run”), from Proto-Indo-European *klewb- (“to spring, stumble”) (compare Lithuanian šlùbti ‘to become lame’, klùbti ‘to stumble’).

Synonyms

bounce, bound, jump, jump off, leaping, saltation, spring, hop

Scrabble Score: 6

leap: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
leap: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
leap: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 8

leap: valid Words With Friends Word