lope
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to move or run with bounding steps, as a quadruped, or with a long, easy stride, as a person.
-
to canter leisurely with a rather long, easy stride, as a horse.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
the act or the gait of loping.
-
a long, easy stride.
verb
-
(intr) (of a person) to move or run with a long swinging stride
-
(intr) (of four-legged animals) to run with a regular bounding movement
-
to cause (a horse) to canter with a long easy stride or (of a horse) to canter in this manner
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lopesimple
-
lopessimple
-
have lopedperfect
-
has lopedperfect
-
am lopingprogressive
-
are lopingprogressive
-
is lopingprogressive
-
have been lopingperfect progressive
-
has been lopingperfect progressive
Past
-
lopedsimple
-
had lopedperfect
-
was lopingprogressive
-
were lopingprogressive
-
had been lopingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lope
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb lopen, loupen, laupen “to jump, leap,” from Old Norse hlaupa; see also leap, loup 2 ( def. )
Explanation
Some words are fun to say: lope is one of them. It's also fun to think about, as it means to move with a casual, striding gait. Imagine a horse cantering along with an easy lope. A pleasant image indeed. Before 1825, the meaning of lope was in the line of a leap or springy jump. This comes from the Old Norse word hlaupa, which sounds like its English meaning, "to leap." This is similar to the Old Dutch lopen, "to run," and the Old English hlēapan, "leap," as well as the Scots loup, all related to the modern meaning: a long, striding gait with a little bounce to it.
Vocabulary lists containing lope
Hot to Trot: Animal Ambulation
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Where the Red Fern Grows
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Touching Spirit Bear
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
She hurtled through the air most weeks as Lynda Carter’s stunt double on the hit television series “Wonder Woman” and mimed Ms. Carter’s leggy lope.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2024
We stroll, stride, plod, traipse, amble, saunter, shuffle, tiptoe, lumber, tromp, lope, strut and swagger.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 5, 2022
The horse would lope to the fence promptly for some corn, while the mule, skittish and wild-eyed, hung back with a kind of pitiable, crazy longing that made you throw an ear right quick.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 13, 2021
He sensed Akata’s easy, distance-eating lope as she moved past Red Rock.
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2021
When he could see their faces clearly, he turned and urged his horse into a lope.
From "In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse" by Joseph Marshall III
The NWS has warned that severe weather could return later this week as a storm lopes into the Great Lakes region over Friday and Saturday.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2024
When Cash first visits the church, a shadowy apparition lopes from the corner of the yard toward her.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2022
The dialogue lopes freely between English and Spanish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2021
The band — Dylan’s long-evolving touring band — patiently circles through slow, stealthy vamps or, in more upbeat moments, lopes through 12-bar blues shuffles.
From New York Times ● Jun. 18, 2020
Father lopes out of the shadows, appears beside Mother.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
But by the time Holiday had sprinted to the basket, Wembanyama had loped over, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Then we waited a few more minutes while our kids loped back and forth between the hoops, not really communicating, before taking our charges home.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2022
The risk did not pay off - Russell ran wide at the second corner on his first attempt, put a wheel on the painted pit-exit line and loped into a slow spin.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2022
Toward the end of the movement, Taylor loped to the rear of the stage, taking his ground-scraping lows with him in a slow, subdued huff.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2022
A black hound loped down the street in the distance, the monkey puzzles bristled silently on the corners of the square.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
Adam Wharton is surely an England regular in the making, the loping socks-down style not disguising an elegant, competitive midfield operator of the highest order.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2025
And although his style looks easy, like he’s loping to the library, it’s profoundly efficient.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2025
As he should: The band’s self-titled debut, which came out last month, is a tuneful blast of fuzz-bomb pop — glammy, folky, a little psychedelic — with great riffs and a loping, late-Beatles-era groove.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2024
“The Ballad of Paladin,” a loping instrumental, was used as the theme for the CBS television series “Have Gun — Will Travel.”
From New York Times ● May 1, 2024
A moment or two passed before Travis came loping outside.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
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.
