gallop
Americanverb (used without object)
-
gallops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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
-
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.
-
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
-
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
-
gallopsimple
-
gallopssimple
-
have gallopedperfect
-
has gallopedperfect
-
am gallopingprogressive
-
are gallopingprogressive
-
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:
This approach leaves the adventure with room to gallop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
He saw an opening to his left, squeezed through it and soon had Ferdinand almost to the rail — and in full gallop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026
The court previously heard Williams passed two police officers as he drove to the paddock, telling them "there's lampers on my gallop, they are there now".
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026
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
My wish was granted instantly as the coach took off in a mad gallop.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
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
James Serafino’s art crowds the first pages as Greenfield’s character gallops behind his anxious brain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2024
“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
Grassy, it stretched away, smooth as the mown gallops on Watership Down.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
Ondas stock rose as high as $11.37 early Tuesday before falling 2% to $10.68, failing to build on its momentum from Monday when it galloped 8.4% higher.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
The 23-year-old carved past a startled Heyes on the fringe of a breakdown and galloped over to put Italy 10-5 in front.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
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
It seems like only yesterday that a robotic disco horse galloped down the Seine and a chorus of decapitated Marie Antoinettes kicked off the Paris Games in a rain-soaked fever dream of an opening ceremony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2024
Tree branches ripped at their clothes as Samson galloped down the completely dark path out of town, as not even the light of the moon could penetrate the trees.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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
To be sure, it is possible that earnings could continue galloping higher for the next few years.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
Instead of the oil shock setting off galloping price increases across the economy like in the 1970s, a milder form of inflation will set in.
From Barron's ● May 11, 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
Behind them was a little bare space, and then the bulls galloping, tossing their heads up and down.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
