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by leaps and bounds

Idioms  
  1. Rapidly, or in fast progress, as in The corn is growing by leaps and bounds, or School enrollment is increasing by leaps and bounds. This term is a redundancy, since leap and bound both mean “spring” or “jump,” but the two words have been paired since Shakespeare's time and are still so used.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In a way, it all happened so quickly, by leaps and bounds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2026

I’m seeing it growing by leaps and bounds on the right.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

With electricity demand increasing by leaps and bounds thanks to artificial intelligence, the company is busier than ever, maintaining aging power plants and modernizing their transmission lines.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2025

Rice was the staple food, and he remembers its price rising "by leaps and bounds" in the summer of 1942.

From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2024

Just as William’s skills had grown by leaps and bounds while he was overseas in France, Elizebeth’s talents were now undergoing a similar transformation.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

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