by leaps and bounds

Idioms

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:

by leaps and bounds

AI agents for software development, in particular, have improved by leaps and bounds, Balazs added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

Steel demand was growing by leaps and bounds when U.S.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2025

Her defense also improved by leaps and bounds, enough so that she was a finalist for defensive player of the year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2025

And third – the technology has improved by leaps and bounds.

From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2024

In 1954, Flom took over as Skadden’s managing partner, and the firm began to grow by leaps and bounds.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023