leapfrog

American  

[leep-frog, -frawg] / ˈlipˌfrɒg, -ˌfrɔg /

noun

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

2. 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.

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verb (used with object)

leapfrogged, leapfrogging

1. to jump over (a person or thing) in or as if in leapfrog.

   He leapfrogged the fence to reach the crying child.

2. 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)

leapfrogged, leapfrogging

1. to move or advance in or as if in leapfrog.

   Our tour leapfrogged through six cities in four days.

leapfrog British  

/ ˈliːpˌfrɒɡ /

noun

1. 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

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verb

1. 1. (intr) to play leapfrog

   2. (tr) to leap in this way over (something)

2. to advance or cause to advance by jumps or stages

Other Word Forms

• leapfrogger noun

Etymology

Origin of leapfrog

First recorded in 1590–1600; leap + frog ¹

Example Sentences

Worse still for the Edinburgh side, Rangers would be handed the opportunity to leapfrog both and go top should they win away to sixth-placed Falkirk on Sunday.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

AI-native software start-ups, unburdened by the baggage of years of design decisions, can leapfrog incumbents with new ways of doing things.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

We need new AI models for the real world—quantitative models trained on lab data and equation-based outputs that let them leapfrog current technology.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Lately, it’s been a thrill to see queer stories confidently leapfrog over coming-out narratives to the trickier question of whether two individuals in particular are a decent match.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 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

Related Words

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