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jump at

British  

verb

  1. (intr, preposition) to be glad to accept

    I would jump at the chance of going

"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

jump at Idioms  
  1. Also, jump at the chance; jump at the bait. Take prompt advantage of, respond quickly to an opportunity. For example, When Dad said he'd help pay for my vacation, I jumped at the offer, or When the lead singer became ill, Sheila jumped at the chance to replace her, or They offered a large reward, hoping that someone would jump at the bait. [Mid-1700s]


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.

There is every indication he would jump at a return to north London after he was sacked by former chairman Daniel Levy only five months after losing to Liverpool in Madrid.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

"Psychological trauma feels like being frozen in time... I jump at the slightest thing. I've become very vulnerable."

From BBC • Jan. 27, 2026

Oil producers may jump at the opportunity to return to Venezuela and its estimated 300 billion barrels worth of oil reserves.

From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026

There are signs consumers would jump at the chance to buy them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

As they rear and hiss and jump at each other you are distracted by the fact that they are both no longer stark white but a perfect ebony black.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern