leapfrog
Americannoun
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a game in which players take turns in leaping over another player bent over from the waist.
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an advance from one place, position, or situation to another without progressing through all or any of the places or stages in between.
a leapfrog from bank teller to vice president in one short year.
verb (used with object)
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to jump over (a person or thing) in or as if in leapfrog.
He leapfrogged the fence to reach the crying child.
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to move or cause to move as if in leapfrog.
Manufacturers are leapfrogging prices because the cost of raw materials has doubled.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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(intr) to play leapfrog
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(tr) to leap in this way over (something)
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to advance or cause to advance by jumps or stages
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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leapfrogsimple
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leapfrogssimple
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have leapfroggedperfect
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has leapfroggedperfect
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am leapfroggingprogressive
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are leapfroggingprogressive
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is leapfroggingprogressive
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have been leapfroggingperfect progressive
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has been leapfroggingperfect progressive
Past
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leapfroggedsimple
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had leapfroggedperfect
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was leapfroggingprogressive
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were leapfroggingprogressive
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had been leapfroggingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of leapfrog
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.
See Examples For:
There could be something of a leapfrog past Holyrood in this scenario.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
"The industry has to innovate and leapfrog, and not just copy and paste China," he said.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
I like it when incumbents are operating on outdated systems because that creates a substantial opportunity to leapfrog competitors with modern integrated technology.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
“All these HFT firms…are trying to leapfrog each other by becoming faster and faster,” Gerko said in a 2019 discussion with students, a video of which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
With these in place, German planes could leapfrog their way up the continent and seize the American-controlled Panama Canal Zone, and perhaps even Mexico or Cuba.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Jacks played his two Tests in 2022 and leapfrogs Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson and Jack Leach to provide cover for Shoaib Bashir.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2025
“Surrender” leapfrogs through Bono’s and U2’s improbable story in vignettes that zigzag between poetic and prosaic, devout and skeptical, privileged and conscientious, mystical and political.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2023
The increase leapfrogs the Fed's 75 basis points increase last month for the largest since central banks began responding to inflation in force earlier this year.
From Reuters ● Jul. 13, 2022
The Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin antitank missile leapfrogs this defense with a double explosive warhead.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2022
But Tom was most astonished to see how he fired himself off—snap! like the leapfrogs which you make out of a goose's breastbone.
From Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 2 by Sylvester, Charles Herbert
And it's not even over Russell, who has been leapfrogged by Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
After three matchdays in the relegation zone, the win meant Spurs, last season's Europa League winners, climbed out of the bottom three and leapfrogged West Ham.
From BBC ● May 4, 2026
Newsom climbed from San Francisco mayor to lieutenant governor to California’s governorship, where he quietly stewed as Harris leapfrogged past him into the vice presidency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
The state leapfrogged California and my home state of Illinois not by becoming wealthier or changing its demographics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
What bothered her even more, however, was that William had leapfrogged her when it came to ability, too.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
First, the court agreed to issue its final judgment in Callais quickly, leapfrogging over the normal period when parties could seek Supreme Court rehearing.
From Slate ● May 13, 2026
However, Everton are now seventh and only two points behind Chelsea, part of a group of sides capable of leapfrogging the struggling giants with seven matches left to play this season.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026
“Concerns about China and others catching up or leapfrogging the U.S. in AI is something to keep in mind,” he says.
From Barron's ● Dec. 12, 2025
As China’s population shrinks and ages, Beijing is betting on leapfrogging technological advance and innovation to boost productivity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
“I read about it once. One of our own agents went rogue, and in order to confuse his trail he started leapfrogging through time.”
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
