- a long or high jump
- a leap of six metres
- She took a flying leap and landed on the other side of the stream.
- He made a flying leap at the ball.
- (figurative) His heart gave a sudden leap when he saw her.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- giant
- little
- …
- make
- take
- leap from
- leap into
- leap to
- …
- a sudden large increase in something
- a leap in profits
Extra ExamplesTopics Change, cause and effectc1- leap in something a leap in prices
- a dramatic leap in the number of people out of work
- leap (from something) (to something) a leap from $632 to $735
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- enormous
- giant
- …
- make
- take
- leap from
- leap to
- leap in
- …
- a leap forward
- a leap of faith
- by leaps and bounds
- …
- leap + adv./prep. a sudden change from one thing to another; very fast progress with something
- Few people successfully make the leap from television to the movies.
- a great leap into the unknown
- They've made a great leap forward with their building in the last few years.
see also quantum leap
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 Dictionaryby/in leaps and bounds
- very quickly; in large amounts
- Her health has improved in leaps and bounds.
- His technique has come on in leaps and bounds this season.
a leap in the dark
- an action or a risk that you take without knowing anything about the activity or what the result will be
- I didn’t know what the new job would be like—I just took a leap in the dark.
a leap of faith
- a belief in something that is not known or has not been done before
- These reforms are totally untested and will require a leap of faith on the part of teachers.
Check pronunciation:
leap