gallop
Americanverb (used without object)
-
gallops,
present (3rd person singular)
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galloped,
past participle, past
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galloping
present participle
verb (used with object)
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gallops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
galloped,
past participle, past
-
galloping
present participle
noun
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gallops
plural
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a fast gait of the horse or other quadruped in which, in the course of each stride, all four feet are off the ground at once.
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a run or ride at this gait.
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a rapid rate of going.
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a period of going rapidly.
verb
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(intr) (of a horse or other quadruped) to run fast with a two-beat stride in which all four legs are off the ground at once
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to ride (a horse, etc) at a gallop
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(intr) to move, read, talk, etc, rapidly; hurry
noun
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the fast two-beat gait of horses and other quadrupeds
-
an instance of galloping
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gallopsimple
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gallopssimple
-
have gallopedperfect
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has gallopedperfect
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am gallopingprogressive
-
are gallopingprogressive
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is gallopingprogressive
-
have been gallopingperfect progressive
-
has been gallopingperfect progressive
Past
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gallopedsimple
-
had gallopedperfect
-
was gallopingprogressive
-
were gallopingprogressive
-
had been gallopingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gallop
1375–1425; late Middle English galopen (v.) < Old French galoper < Frankish *wala hlaupan to run well ( see well 1, leap) or, alternatively, verbal derivative of *walhlaup, equivalent to *wal battlefield (cognate with Old High German wal; see Valkyrie) + *hlaup run, course (derivative of the v.)
Explanation
A gallop is a horse's fastest gait, a full-on run. A loud noise might cause a trotting horse to panic and break into a gallop. Any four-legged animal can run at a gallop, although the word most often describes horses and ponies. To run this way is also to gallop: "I watched the horses gallop around the track." You can even use the word to emphasize a person's fast and heavy gait: "My little brother has to gallop around the house a few times before he'll go to bed."
Vocabulary lists containing gallop
Horsin' Around
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Hot to Trot: Animal Ambulation
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"Dragon, Dragon"
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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:
Slot stood watching in disbelief in stoppage time when Sergino Dest was allowed to gallop clear and cross to Driouech for a clinical finish.
From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025
We’ve rounded up seven essential ways to witness the Black West in all its grit, glory and gallop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2025
This involves a gallop of nine to 10 minutes through the park at Versailles, twice crossing the centuries-old Grand Canal in what might be one of the Paris Olympics’ signature views.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2024
While still very much an open world, with fields to gallop across and deep canyons and caves to plunge into, Shadow of the Erdtree bends toward the layer-cake-like level design of the original Dark Souls.
From New York Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
Diamond Joe passed me at the human equivalent of a full gallop.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
We’re both new fathers and hurtling toward middle age completely agog at how quickly the time gallops by.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The author gallops through vital moments in world history across the centuries but dallies over what seem like niche aspects of medieval French history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
The court previously heard Williams passed two police officers as he drove to the paddock, telling them: "There's lampers on my gallops, they are there now."
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
“If she gallops as fast as she looks, it’s going to be a good year,” said Brad Keselowski, driver and co-owner of RFK Racing.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 1, 2023
Cejas’s story gallops on and on, and I feel her sparkle zing right through the phone and into my hand.
From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
Hollywood was founded by daredevils, from the cowboys who galloped here to become stuntmen, to the small-town girls who bucked the pressure to get married and moved west to chase a one-in-a-million dream.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Keysight stock is currently about 7% below its record closing high of $366.68 from May 6 and has galloped 125% higher over the past 12 months, accord to Dow Jones Market Data.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
Nick Rockett galloped away from top weight I Am Maximus after the final fence to win by two and a half lengths.
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2025
With advancing technology, screening for fetal abnormalities has galloped ahead, and the test behind the new study become widespread about 10 years ago.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 4, 2024
They galloped around the marble columns, spitting flames, neighing with a sound like sandblasters.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
First came the whippet who lives down the hall, galloping outside my apartment and then, as he often does, failing to account for the slickness of the linoleum.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Video footage captured chaotic scenes with horses galloping through traffic to flee the flames.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
To be sure, it is possible that earnings could continue galloping higher for the next few years.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
A video tour of the sanctuary posted in 2023 showed horses grazing and galloping across a vast expanse of the 40-acre property in Julian and a cattery where felines lounged in cat condos.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026
“Ta-TUM, ta-TUM, ta-TUM, ta-TUM, ta-TUM! That was well spoken, too. I could hear the iambic pentameter galloping right along.”
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
