leap
verb/liːp/
/liːp/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they leap | /liːp/ /liːp/ |
| he / she / it leaps | /liːps/ /liːps/ |
| past simple leapt | /lept/ /lept/ |
| past participle leapt | /lept/ /lept/ |
| past simple leaped | /liːpt/ /liːpt/ |
| past participle leaped | /liːpt/ /liːpt/ |
| -ing form leaping | /ˈliːpɪŋ/ /ˈliːpɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to jump high or a long way
- + adv./prep. A dolphin leapt out of the water.
- We leaped over the stream.
- leap something The horse leapt a five-foot wall.
Extra Examples- She leaped across the puddles.
- She leaped clear of the water.
- The horse leaped over high fences.
- A dolphin suddenly leapt out of the water.
- The horse galloped on, leaping fences and hedges as it came to them.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- almost
- nearly
- practically
- …
- seem to
- be about to
- be ready to
- …
- across
- from
- into
- …
- leap to your feet
Definitions on the go
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- [intransitive] + adv./prep. to move or do something suddenly and quickly
- She leapt out of bed.
- He leaped across the room to answer the door.
- I leapt to my feet (= stood up quickly).
- They leapt into action immediately.
- (figurative) She was quick to leap to my defence (= speak in support of me).
- The photo seemed to leap off the page (= it got your attention immediately).
- His name leapt out at me (= I saw it immediately).
Extra Examples- Don't be so nervous—anyone would think I was about to leap on you.
- He almost leaped down the stairs when he heard who it was.
- He leaped down from the ladder and ran over to her.
- He leapt onto his horse and rode off.
- He leapt out of bed when he heard the telephone.
- Rose immediately leapt to her feet.
- children leaping about with excitement
- The people on the shore were leaping up and down and shouting.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- almost
- nearly
- practically
- …
- seem to
- be about to
- be ready to
- …
- across
- from
- into
- …
- leap to your feet
- [intransitive] leap (in something) (from…) (to…) to increase suddenly and by a large amount synonym shoot up
- The shares leapt in value from 476p to close at 536p.
- The company saw pre-tax profits leap to £14.5 million in 2004.
Word OriginOld English hlēapan (verb), hlȳp (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lopen, German laufen (verb), and Dutch loop, German Lauf (noun), all meaning ‘run’, also to lope.
Idioms
See leap in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarysomebody’s heart leaps
- used to say that somebody has a sudden feeling of happiness or excitement
- My heart leapt at the news.
- Her heart leaped with joy.
jump/leap to conclusions | jump/leap to the conclusion that…
- to make a decision about somebody/something too quickly, before you know or have thought about all the facts
- There I go again—jumping to conclusions.
Extra Examples- Don't jump to conclusions.
- We don't want to jump to the wrong conclusion.
look before you leap
- (saying) used to advise somebody to think about the possible results or dangers of something before doing itTopics Dangerc2
Check pronunciation:
leap