leapfrog

[ leep-frog, -frawg ]

/ ˈlipˌfrɒg, -ˌfrɔg /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR leapfrog ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a game in which players take turns in leaping over another player bent over from the waist.

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), leap·frogged, leap·frog·ging.

to jump over (a person or thing) in or as if in leapfrog: He leapfrogged the fence to reach the crying child.

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), leap·frogged, leap·frog·ging.

to move or advance in or as if in leapfrog: Our tour leapfrogged through six cities in four days.

Nearby words

leap day, leap in the dark, leap of faith, leap second, leap year, leapfrog, leapfrog test, leapt, lear, lear board, lear complex

Origin of leapfrog

First recorded in 1590–1600; leap + frog¹

Related forms

leap·frog·ger, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for leapfrog

Unlike technology, there is no leapfrog development in politics.
To See the Progress in Afghanistan, Stop Viewing the Country Through a Western Lens|Sam Schneider|February 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Leapfrog stood for a long time, as if lost in thought; people began to think he would not jump at all.
Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales|Hans Christian Andersen
Each group stands in single file in leapfrog position, feet wide apart to form a tunnel through which the ball is passed.
Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium|Jessie H. Bancroft
It is not necessary to be able to play at leapfrog to enjoy the game.
The Seaboard Parish Volume 1|George MacDonald

Mr. Miller had risen and bowed as if he was giving some invisible person a "back" for leapfrog.
A Crooked Mile|Oliver Onions
One was leapfrog, and another was of the snap-the-whip variety.
First at the North Pole|Edward Stratemeyer

British Dictionary definitions for leapfrog

leapfrog

/ (ˈliːpˌfrɒɡ) /

noun

a children's game in which each player in turn leaps over the others' bent backs, leaning on them with the hands and spreading the legs wide

verb -frogs, -frogging or -frogged

(intr) to play leapfrog
(tr) to leap in this way over (something)

to advance or cause to advance by jumps or stages

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