jumper

¹

[juhm-per]

noun

1. a person or thing that jumps.

2. Basketball.,  jump shot.

3. Sports.,  a participant in a jumping event, as in track or skiing.

4. Manège.,  a horse specially trained to jump obstacles.

5. a boring tool or device worked with a jumping motion.

6. Also called jump wire. Electricity.,  a short length of conductor used to make a connection, usually temporary, between terminals of a circuit or to bypass a circuit.

7. Also called jumper cable. booster cable.

8. a kind of sled.

9. Also called jumper stay. Nautical.,  a line preventing the end of a spar or boom from being lifted out of place.

10. any of various fishes that leap from the water, as the striped mullet or jumprock.

jumper

²

[juhm-per]

noun

1. a one-piece, sleeveless dress, or a skirt with straps and a complete or partial bodice, usually worn over a blouse by women and children.

2. a loose outer jacket worn especially by workers and sailors.

3. British.,  a pullover sweater.

4. jumpers, rompers.

jumper

¹

/ ˈdʒʌmpə /

noun

1. a boring tool that works by repeated impact, such as a steel bit in a hammer drill used in boring rock

2. Also called: jumper cable.  jumper lead. a short length of wire used to make a connection, usually temporarily, between terminals or to bypass a component

3. a type of sled with a high crosspiece

4. a person or animal that jumps

5. derogatory,  a person who changes religion; a convert

jumper

²

/ ˈdʒʌmpə /

noun

1. a knitted or crocheted garment covering the upper part of the body

2. Also called: pinafore dress. a sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or sweater

Word History and Origins

Origin of jumper¹

First recorded in 1605–15; jump + -er ¹

Origin of jumper²

First recorded in 1850–55; obsolete jump “short coat” (of uncertain origin) + -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of jumper¹

C19: from obsolete jump man's loose jacket, variant of jupe, from Old French, from Arabic jubbah long cloth coat

Example Sentences

"I believe these nematodes are some of the smallest, best jumpers in the world," Ortega-Jiménez says.

Read more on Science Daily

As we watched, he uncovered a frayed, brownish jumper covered in dirt.

Read more on BBC

Her grandfather, Ted Green, was a long jumper at Manual Arts.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Beneath the towering, neon-lit billboards of Times Square, six of the world's top long jumpers are soaring through the air, turning one of New York's most iconic streets into an unlikely athletics stage.

Read more on Barron's

His father, a former high jumper, chose his son’s given name of Sorato, which is written with characters that mean “sky” and “jump.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• acrobat