hopscotch
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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to jump or leap from one place to another.
Small birds hopscotched on the lawn.
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to journey quickly and directly from one usually far place to another.
ambassadors hopscotching from Moscow to Paris to London.
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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.
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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)
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to jump or leap over.
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to cross over (a large area or distance) in one continuous action.
She hopscotches the country in her private plane.
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to cross or travel through erratically or abruptly.
The escaped convicts hopscotched the valley.
noun
Etymology
Origin of hopscotch
Explanation
Hopscotch is a game in which players hop on one foot between numbered squares on the ground. Playgrounds and driveways are common places to see hopscotch being played. To set up a game of hopscotch, you need a grid of numbered boxes, often drawn on the sidewalk with chalk. Each player takes turns tossing a small rock or other object into one of the boxes, hopping on one foot, picking up the rock, and hopping back. The object is for the rock to land inside each box without touching a line, and for the hopper to also avoid landing on a line or losing balance.
Vocabulary lists containing hopscotch
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.
The group has been known to break out into hopscotch, Hula-Hoop, line dancing, jump rope and patty-cake, among other games.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2024
On a patch of dirt, between rows of tents, Alma plays hopscotch with her uncle Sami's children, leaping from square to square.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2024
Watching “Peanuts,” even as a kid, was like playing a game of cerebral hopscotch.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2023
I don’t remember seeing any boys as we roller skated, jumped rope and played hopscotch on upper Waters Avenue.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2023
And they’ll play hopscotch, transferring upstate from one “jump jail” to the next, until they can finally live at home again.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
