by leaps and bounds

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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.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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Words nearby by leaps and bounds

by inches, by Jove, byke, bylane, bylaw, by leaps and bounds, byline, byliner, by means of, by mistake, byname

How to use by leaps and bounds in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Wait…” Suddenly a huge, graceful black marlin leaps out of the water, sending a shower of water ten feet high.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

A step-by-step plan to break from your various technology addictions.
Can Self-Help Books Really Make a New You?|Lizzie Crocker|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All along the highways and by-paths of our literature we encounter much that pertains to this "queen of plants."
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
John was baptizing at a large pool called Ænon-by-Saleim,—probably allegorical, meaning “Fountain of Repose.”
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
The sewing-machine made a resounding clatter in the room; it was of a ponderous, by-gone make.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift