leap

[ leep ]
/ lip /

verb (used without object), leaped or leapt, leap·ing.

verb (used with object), leaped or leapt, leap·ing.

noun

Idioms for leap

Origin of leap

before 900; Middle English lepen, Old English hlēapan to leap, run; cognate with German laufen, Old Norse hlaupa, Gothic hlaupan

SYNONYMS FOR leap

1 bound. See jump.

OTHER WORDS FROM leap

leap·er, noun

Words nearby leap

leangle, leaning, leaning tower of pisa, leaning tower of pisa, the, leant, leap, leap day, leap in the dark, leap of faith, leap second, leap year
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for by leaps and bounds

leap
/ (liːp) /

verb leaps, leaping, leapt or leaped

noun

Derived forms of leap

leaper, noun

Word Origin for leap

Old English hlēapan; related to Gothic hlaupan, German laufen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with by leaps and bounds (1 of 2)

by leaps and bounds

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.

Idioms and Phrases with by leaps and bounds (2 of 2)

leap
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.