hopscotch

[ hop-skoch ]

/ ˈhɒpˌskɒtʃ /

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noun

a children's game in which a player tosses or kicks a small flat stone, beanbag, or other object into one of several numbered sections of a diagram marked on the pavement or ground and then hops on one foot over the lines from section to section and picks up the stone or object, usually while standing on one foot in an adjacent section.

verb (used without object) Informal.

to jump or leap from one place to another: Small birds hopscotched on the lawn.

to journey quickly and directly from one usually far place to another: ambassadors hopscotching from Moscow to Paris to London.

to move or pass through something, as a geographical area or a field of endeavor, making many brief stops: The candidate hopscotched through four states in two days.

to shift from one thing to another quickly or abruptly: The story hopscotches from the present to the past in a confusing way.

verb (used with object) Informal.

to jump or leap over.

to cross over (a large area or distance) in one continuous action: She hopscotches the country in her private plane.

to cross or travel through erratically or abruptly: The escaped convicts hopscotched the valley.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of hopscotch

First recorded in 1795–1805; hop¹ + scotch¹

Words nearby hopscotch

Hoppus foot, hoppy, hops, hopsack, hopsacking, hopscotch, hop, skip, and a jump, hop, step, and jump, hoptoad, hop to it, hoptree

How to use hopscotch in a sentence

Registering for another race or resuming training too soon just becomes a hopscotch move over processing what you just accomplished.
How to Cope with the Post-Marathon Blues|jversteegh|October 23, 2021|Outside Online
The street is closed to traffic and kids run unfettered across inviting hopscotch squares and bicycle lanes.
Allah, Mom, and Baklava: Turkish President Uses Mothers and Kids as Political Pawns|Xanthe Ackerman|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Our own Rx includes fat, colored chalk for drawing hopscotch boxes, plus Whiffle Ball and water balloons.
Zodiac Beast|Starsky + Cox|April 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
You'll feel weaker still if Hopscotch comes in and finds you with nothing unpacked!
For the School Colours|Angela Brazil

Queke was probably a kind of hopscotch, and penny-prick a tossing game; both enjoyed an evil repute, according to Strutt.
Chaucer and His England|G. G. Coulton
The girls (and sometimes the boys) play a very elaborate kind of hopscotch.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 24 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson
We p. 71played hopscotch, which is good training for the calves of the legs.
Christopher Crayon's Recollections|J. Ewing Ritchie
Of children's games, that known as "Hopscotch" was originally a religious rite practised at funerals.
The Danes in Lancashire and Yorkshire|S. W. Partington

British Dictionary definitions for hopscotch

hopscotch

/ (ˈhɒpˌskɒtʃ) /

noun

a children's game in which a player throws a small stone or other object to land in one of a pattern of squares marked on the ground and then hops over to it to pick it up

Word Origin for hopscotch

C19: hop 1 + scotch 1

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

hopscotch

Origin of hopscotch

Words nearby hopscotch

Words related to hopscotch

How to use hopscotch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hopscotch

Word Origin for hopscotch