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Showing results for leapfrog. Search instead for leap+frog.
Synonyms

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.

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

"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

verb

    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

"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

Other Word Forms

  • leapfrogger noun

Etymology

Origin of leapfrog

First recorded in 1590–1600; leap + frog 1

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.

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

While many in the industry zero in on turning a profit, Zelos is taking advantage of Alibaba’s artificial-intelligence capacity and logistics network to leapfrog its technology.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 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

New start-ups without any legacy baggage can entirely rethink information security in an agent-first world, and possibly leapfrog industry mainstays.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

Another leapfrog jump and he sat atop the nine-foot log.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

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.