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

Executives also told reporters that the company was taking time to get the software right, which they said would allow them to “leapfrog” the test plan by flying semiautonomously.

From The Wall Street Journal

Gelsinger laid out a strategy to leapfrog those rivals while also becoming a leading contract chip maker.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We were comfortable thinking we were on the rise, and everyone else was, and suddenly there is a guy leapfrogging all of us."

From BBC

He added that given India's growing IT expertise, it had the potential to leapfrog the United States in areas such as integrated command and control, sensor fusion, autonomy, and data analytics.

From Reuters

Unless it’s all smokescreens, there must be a reason teams are trying to leapfrog into the top 3 picks reportedly to grab the 19-year-old.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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• dive
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• fall
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