Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Leap
Leap
,Noun.
[AS.
leáp
.] 1.
A basket.
[Obs.]
Wyclif.
2.
A weel or wicker trap for fish.
[Prov. Eng.]
Leap
(lēp)
, Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Leaped
(lēpt; 277)
, rarely Leapt
(lēpt or lĕpt)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Leaping
.] 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 horseBacon.
Leap
in with me into this angry flood. Shakespeare
2.
To spring or move suddenly, as by a jump or by jumps; to bound; to move swiftly. Also Fig.
My heart
A rainbow in the sky.
leaps
up when I beholdA rainbow in the sky.
Wordsworth.
Leap
,Verb.
T.
1.
To pass over by a leap or jump;
as, to
. leap
a wall, or a ditch2.
To copulate with (a female beast); to cover.
3.
To cause to leap;
as, to
. leap
a horse across a ditchLeap
,Noun.
1.
The act of leaping, or the space passed by leaping; a jump; a spring; a bound.
Wickedness comes on by degrees, . . . and sudden
leaps
from one extreme to another are unnatural. L’Estrange.
Changes of tone may proceed either by
leaps
or glides. H. Sweet.
2.
Copulation with, or coverture of, a female beast.
3.
(Mining)
A fault.
4.
(Mus.)
A passing from one note to another by an interval, especially by a long one, or by one including several other and intermediate intervals.
Webster 1828 Edition
Leap
LEAP
,Verb.
I.
1.
To spring or rise from the ground with both feet, as man, or with all the feet, as other animals; to jump; to vault; as, a man leaps over a fence, or leaps upon a horse.A man leapeth better with weights in his hands than without.
2.
To spring or move suddenly; as, to leap from a horse.3.
To rush with violence.And the man in whom the evil spirit was, leaped on them and overcame them - Acts 19.
4.
To spring; to bound; to skip; as, to leap for joy.5.
To fly; to start. Job. 41.He parted frowning from me, as if ruin leaped from his eyes.
[Our common people retain the Saxon aspirate of this word in the phrase, to clip it, to run fast.]
LEAP
,Verb.
T.
1.
To pass over by leaping; to spring or bound from one side to the other; as, to leap a wall, a gate or a gulf; to leap a stream. [But the phrase is elliptical, and over is understood.]2.
To compress; as the male of certain beasts.LEAP
,Noun.
1.
A jump; a spring; a bound; act of leaping.2.
Space passed by leaping.3.
A sudden transition of passing.4.
The space that may be passed at a bound.'Tis the convenient leap I mean to try.
5.
Embrace of animals.6.
Hazard, or effect of leaping.7.
A basket; a weel for fish. [Not in use.]Definition 2024
leap
leap
See also: LEAP
English
Verb
leap (third-person singular simple present leaps, present participle leaping, simple past leaped or leapt or (archaic) lept or (archaic) lope, past participle leaped or leapt or (archaic) lopen)
- (intransitive) To jump.
- c. 1450, anonymous, Merlin
- It is grete nede a man to go bak to recouer the better his leep
- 1600, anonymous, The wisdome of Doctor Dodypoll, act 4
- I, I defie thee: wert not thou next him when he leapt into the Riuer?
- 1783, Hugh Blair, from the “Illiad” in Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, lecture 4, page 65
- Th’ infernal monarch rear’d his horrid head, Leapt from his throne, lest Neptune’s arm should lay His dark dominions open to the day.
- 1999, Ai, Vice: New & Selected Poems, page 78
- It is better to leap into the void.
- c. 1450, anonymous, Merlin
- (transitive) To pass over by a leap or jump.
- to leap a wall or a ditch
- (transitive) To copulate with (a female beast); to cover.
- (transitive) To cause to leap.
- to leap a horse across a ditch
Usage notes
The choice between leapt and leaped is mostly a matter of regional differences: leapt is preferred in British English and leaped in American English. According to research by John Algeo (British or American English?, Cambridge, 2006), leapt is used 80% of the time in UK and 32% in the US.
Synonyms
- (jump from one location to another): bound, hop, jump, spring
- (jump upwards): bound, hop, jump, spring
Translations
to jump
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Noun
leap (plural leaps)
- The act of leaping or jumping.
- L'Estrange
- Wickedness comes on by degrees, […] and sudden leaps from one extreme to another are unnatural.
- H. Sweet
- Changes of tone may proceed either by leaps or glides.
- L'Estrange
- The distance traversed by a leap or jump.
- (figuratively) A significant move forward.
- 1969 July 20, Neil Armstrong, as he became the first man to step on the moon
- That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.
- 1969 July 20, Neil Armstrong, as he became the first man to step on the moon
- (mining) A fault.
- Copulation with, or coverture of, a female beast.
- 1865, British Farmer's Magazine (issue 48, page 8)
- Much difference of opinion exists as to the number of bullings a cow should receive. Here, I think, good judgment should be used. If the bull is cool and quiet, and some time has intervened since he had his last cow, one good leap is better than more […]
- 1865, British Farmer's Magazine (issue 48, page 8)
- (music) A passing from one note to another by an interval, especially by a long one, or by one including several other intermediate intervals.
- (obsolete) A basket.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif to this entry?)
- A weel or wicker trap for fish.
- (figuratively) Synonym of exaggeration
Translations
the act of leaping
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distance traversed by a leap
significant move forward
Derived terms
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Etymology 2
From Middle English leep, from Old English lēap (“basket”), from Proto-Germanic *laupaz (“container, basket”). Cognate with Icelandic laupur (“basket”).
Alternative forms
Noun
leap (plural leaps)