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Synonyms

gallop

American  
[gal-uhp] / ˈgæl əp /

verb (used without object)

  1. to ride a horse at a gallop; ride at full speed.

    They galloped off to meet their friends.

  2. to run rapidly by leaps, as a horse; go at a gallop.

  3. to go fast, race, or hurry, as a person or time.

    Synonyms:
    scoot, fly, speed, dash, rush, run

verb (used with object)

  1. to cause (a horse or other animal) to gallop.

noun

  1. 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.

  2. a run or ride at this gait.

  3. a rapid rate of going.

  4. a period of going rapidly.

gallop British  
/ ˈɡæləp /

verb

  1. (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

  2. to ride (a horse, etc) at a gallop

  3. (intr) to move, read, talk, etc, rapidly; hurry

"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

noun

  1. the fast two-beat gait of horses and other quadrupeds

  2. an instance of galloping

"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

Other Word Forms

  • galloper noun
  • outgallop verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of gallop

1375–1425; late Middle English galopen (v.) < Old French galoper < Frankish *wala hlaupan to run well ( well 1, leap ) or, alternatively, verbal derivative of *walhlaup, equivalent to *wal battlefield (cognate with Old High German wal; Valkyrie ) + *hlaup run, course (derivative of the v.)

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.

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

The day took a tragic turn in the $5 million Turf when Jayarebe collapsed in the gallop out after the race.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 2, 2024

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

There’s hoofbeats on the road, distant but approaching at full gallop.

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

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.