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:
The 104-year-old company’s attempt to leapfrog into the 21st century is running into resistance from its agents and customers alike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 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
Meanwhile, City beat Burnley 1-0 on Wednesday to leapfrog Arsenal into top spot in the table, the first time City have been at the summit since the opening weekend.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 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
Readers will need the Mitford family tree that appears at the front of the book, however, as Thompson leapfrogs through the saga of this infamous sisterhood.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 5, 2016
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
Anthropic has leapfrogged ahead of rival artificial intelligence developer OpenAI, filing its confidential paperwork for an initial public offering.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
When undecided voters were asked who they would vote for if they had to make a choice, Raman leapfrogged Pratt — though by less than a percentage point, the poll found.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 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
He leapfrogged several higher-ranking Secret Service officials to take the job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
But she could not take her eyes from her brother as he leapfrogged from log to log, higher and higher.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Olsen: I’m sort of leapfrogging over nominations, and I’m just thinking about what would be exciting on the show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
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
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
“We are moving literally at the speed of light. Our one-year cadence is about us leapfrogging ourselves,” he said, noting Nvidia’s next AI server called Vera Rubin is slated for next year.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
But by leapfrogging the United States into space, the Russians had turned even local racial policy into fodder for the international conflict.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
